Bayesian phylodynamic analysis reveals the dispersal patterns of tomato spotted wilt virus

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is distributed globally and causes considerable economic losses in plant production. However, the molecular epidemiology of TSWV remains poorly understood. In this study, we inferred the phylodynamics of TSWV using the most extensive and comprehensive dataset of TSWV collected over a 31-year period (1992-2023). The maximum clade credibility (MCC) trees showed that the spatial origins of TSWV mainly place in Europe. Both global migration and dispersal patterns of TSWV indicate that intra-continental transmissions (within continents) were more frequent than inter-continental migrations (between continents). Additionally, several codons under both positive selection and negative selection were identified in the RdRp and N genes. Our study provides a crucial snapshot of the virus's evolution, which may contribute to a deeper understanding of TSWV evolutionary dynamics.