Chemical Outbreak for Tobacco Mosaic Virus Control

Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) represents a paradigm in virology, and its control may open the way to effective treatment against phytoviruses. However, the use of chemicals to eliminate the virus from infected plants is very difficult. In this state of the art survey we include trials on a) natural compounds derived from organisms, b) synthetic compounds and c) plant or microorganism extracts, from 2006 to 2015. Plants have been the main source of natural products for anti-TMV tests in the last ten years, and Nicotiana tabacum was the main focus of research, particularly between 2014-2015. Since 2012, there has been a great increase in publications (+45%) and identified compounds (+241%). Between 2012-2015, an average of 31 papers were published and 140 compounds were tested each year, compared to 9 papers and 26 compounds in 2006-2011. Unfortunately, there is little information on the action mechanisms of newly discovered or modified compounds. Cross references to the basic structure of compounds is provided in this review. This chemical outbreak this massive interest in chemical solutions to TMV could be due to the increasing availability of instruments for the analysis of organic compounds. Alternatively Another explanation could be that the chemistry advances in synthesis, which have provided countless drugs with potential benefits for TMV control, have overwhelmed overloaded the plant pathology screening needed to discriminate between compounds and to provide useful agrochemicals for farmers.