Data mining redefines the timeline and geographic spread of cotton leafroll dwarf virus.

Cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV), a threat to the cotton industry, was first reported in the United States (US) as an emergent pathogen in 2017. Phylogenetic analysis supports the hypothesis that US CLRDV strains are genetically distinct from strains in South America and elsewhere, which is not consistent with the hypothesis that the virus is newly introduced into the country. Using database mining, we evaluated the timeline and geographic distribution of CLRDV in the country.