Unusual symptoms including yellowing, stunting, curling, crumpling and plant size reduction were observed
in tomato fields and green houses in Tunisia. These symptoms, generally associated with the Tomato yellow
leaf curl virus (TYLCV) complex, have become increasingly common in recent years. In order to ascertain the molecular
characteristics of Tunisian isolates by PCR, both the coat protein gene and the intergenic region of eleven isolates
were amplified using specific primers, and sequenced. The PCR procedure also allowed the amplification of viral
DNA fragments using a bean total DNA as a template. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that these Tunisian isolates
clustered with a Sicilian isolate of TYLCSV-Sic. This is the first report of the involvement of this viral species in
Phaseolus vulgaris disease