Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) was first detected in Israel in 2014 and has since caused economic damage and threats to tomato and pepper production worldwide. The main route of introduction into new countries or regions is through infected seeds and seedlings. The objective of this work was to determine if ToBRFV can be released from infected plants through the roots into the nutrient solution when plants are grown in hydroponics, and to determine the maximum dilution of this virus in water that can still be detected. This knowledge is essential for further studies on the possible transmission of ToBRFV through aquatic media. During the experiment in a quarantine greenhouse, we found that infectious particles of ToBRFV can be released from the roots of infected plants into the nutrient solution. By analyzing dilutions of ToBRFV in water, we found that we needed more virus particles for successful mechanical inoculation of test plants and for detection with rapid serological tests than for detection with a molecular assay - reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction.
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