Classic and Emergent Viruses Infecting Capsicum Species: A Mini Review

Abstract

The Capsicum genus comprises diverse species of major agroeconomic and culinary importance worldwide. Although global pepper production continues to increase, climate change, prices and viral diseases represent significant limitations affecting crop productivity. Plant viruses have regained interest due to the emergence of recombinant variants that can give rise to novel viral lineages. Most of these viruses descend from related ancestors and exhibit high genomic sequence identity. Although viral divergence in plants is a natural evolutionary phenomenon that contributes to biodiversity, it raises concerns and expectations about viral pathogenicity and transmission dynamics. From 2015 to September 2025, several viruses, including pepper yellow leaf curl virus (PepYLCV), pepper yellow leaf curl Aceh virus (PepYLCAV), pepper whitefly-borne vein yellows virus (PeWBVYV), pod pepper vein yellows virus (PPeVYV), tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) and solanum nigrum ilarvirus 1 (SnIV1), were first reported infecting pepper plants. The emergence of new viruses fosters rearrangements in virus-plant interactions through ecological processes in which plants, vectors and viruses converge, promoting niche diversification and recombination-driven viral diversity. In addition, intrinsic viral attributes, such as genomic rearrangements and the occurrence in mixed infections, may facilitate the emergence of new species. Mixed infections function as key biotic factors that promote genetic recombination, whereas climate change and anthropogenic activities function as important abiotic drivers of viral emergence. This review provides an updated synthesis of emerging and established viruses infecting peppers (Capsicum spp.), emphasizing recent host expansion events and the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms shaping viral emergence.