Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Virus Infection, Resistance and Control
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026
Special Issue Editor
Interests: plant virology; viral replication; RNA silencing; host-pathogen interactions; CRISPR; resistance; virus elimination; protoplasts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plant viruses pose a major threat to global agriculture by reducing crop yield and quality. At the molecular level, virus infection involves intricate interactions between viral components and host cellular machinery. Many plant viruses remodel intracellular membranes to establish replication complexes, often exploiting host trafficking systems and organelle interfaces. To evade antiviral responses, viruses express proteins that suppress RNA silencing, a core defense mechanism in plants. Viral movement proteins enable cell-to-cell and systemic transport by modifying plasmodesmata and coordinating with host structures. Advances in molecular virology, fluorescence microscopy, and high-resolution structural biology have significantly improved our understanding of these dynamic processes. Fluorescence-based imaging approaches, including the use of tagged viral proteins and reporters, have been applied to monitor subcellular localization and trafficking events associated with virus infection. In parallel, genome engineering tools such as CRISPR-Cas systems are being developed to target both RNA and DNA viruses, offering new antiviral strategies in plants. This Special Issue invites original research and review articles focused on the molecular mechanisms of plant virus infection. Topics may include replication, movement, suppression of host defenses, virus–host interactions, resistance mechanisms, and emerging biotechnological tools for virus detection and control.
Dr. Carl Spetz
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- plant virus
- host–pathogen interaction
- viral replication
- virus movement
- RNA silencing
- molecular virology
- CRISPR
- resistance
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