Real-time PCR data for reference candidate gene selection in tomato infected with Tomato curly stunt virus

Real-time PCR (qPCR) is a useful and robust method of quantifying gene expression, provided that suitable reference genes are used to normalize the data. To date, suitable reference genes have not been validated for tomato gene expression changes in response to Tomato curly stunt virus (ToCSV). RT-qPCR was conducted on resistent (R) and susceptible (S) tomato leave tissue infected with ToCSV at 35 days post infection. Ten candidate reference genes were selected and validated using SYBR green. Here, we report a set of primers designed for the ten candidate genes and the data for the melt curve analysis and standard curves generated for each candidate reference gene. This data provides a useful resourse in reference gene selection for future use in the normalization of qPCR data investigating tomato-virus interactions. To our knowledge, this data provides the first selection and testing of candidate reference genes in a tomato-ToCSV pathosystem.