| Summary: | Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) has one of the largest host ranges among plant viruses and is widespread in all climates. TSWV is responsible for numerous epidemics in many parts of the world in different crops, mainly vegetables, tobacco and ornamentals. Its highly polyphagous nature, effectiveness of virus transmission by the thrips as its vectors, rapidity with which new variants arise, as well as difficulties in controlling the vectors make TSWV one of the most dangerous plant viruses. The ability of this virus to cause such severe losses on a broad range of crops, as well as its intriguing biological and molecular characteristics place TSWV amongst the most extensively studied plant viruses in the world at present. This paper provides a general overview of TSWV, encompassing all the major aspects of its biology and current knowledge on host range, symptomatology, molecular biology, vectorrelationship, control and diagnosis.
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