Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) is a spherical negative-sense RNA virus.

[2] The most common species is Frankliniella occidentalis (western flower thrips) as it is the vector that predominantly transmits TSWV globally and in greenhouses.

[7] However, thrips that have successfully become infected with TSWV in the larval stage can transmit the virus throughout their lifetimes.

[2] There is also variability of symptoms within a single type of host due to the age of the plant, nutrition and the environment (especially temperature).

[11][12] p202/3WT, Tarquinia, and p105 isolates were always positioned in three different lineages according to phylogenetic analysis based on full genome, RdRp, GcGn, NSm, N, and NSs genes.

[13][14] TSWV isolates from worldwide shared high nucleotide and amino acid identities in N gene region.

[15] Additionally, the highly conserved N gene was found to be under very strong negative selection pressures with estimated dN/dS values = 0.0638[16] and 0.0557.

Several strains of TSWV have been detected in countries such as Australia, Spain, and the United States that can overcome the Sw-5-resistant gene.

[18] Other important prevention techniques include buying virus- and thrips-free transplants and managing thrips populations.