Cassava (Manihot esculenta, Crantz) is a major food crop in Africa and Asia. Cassava can grow under drought, high temperature and poor soil conditions76, but its production is severely limited by viral diseases. CMD is one of the most economically important crop diseases in Africa. Cassava, which is indigenous to South America, was first brought to Africa in the 16th century. When crops are transferred from their centers of origin to other locations, they often encounter viruses that cause serious disease in their new environments. CMD is an example of this, and the CMBs that cause CMD have a long evolutionary history in Africa, including the recent pandemic that spread across Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s and 2000s. CMD induces severe stunting and a yellow mosaic pattern due to disruption of chloroplast function, which results in reduced tuber size and yield loss (Fig. 1B). During the pandemic, CMD was associated with a 47% yield loss in East and Central Africa.
