Tobacco etch virus (TEV) is a plant pathogenic virus in the genus
Potyvirus and the virus family
Potyviridae. Like other members of the Potyvirus genus, TEV is a monopartite strand of positive-sense, single-stranded RNA surrounded by a capsid made from a single viral encoded protein. The virus is a filamentous particle that measures about 730 nm in length. It is transmissible in a non-persistent manner by more than 10 species of aphids including
Myzus persicae. It also is easily transmitted by mechanical means but is not known to be transmitted by seeds.