Advances in Plant Viruses

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2024) | Viewed by 6291

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Department of Cell and Systems Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
Interests: plant biotechnology; food insecurity; public health
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Guest Editor
Virology Laboratory, Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
Interests: virology; plant viruses; viroids; satellites; agricultural biotechnology; genetic engineering; food security; virus-like particles; viral nanoparticles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, plant viruses have been detected in many environments and in the feces of various animals and insects. Emerging plant viruses cause considerable economic losses and threaten sustainable agriculture. Generally, the control of diseases derived from plant viruses is based on restraining virus dispersion. Although a variety of methods have been employed to study plant viruses, our surprising lack of knowledge about plant viruses indicates the need for more comprehensive studies.

This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for researchers interested in plant virology to share their recent findings. We invite you to submit research articles, short communications, or reviews relating to the various aspects of plant virology.

Dr. Kathleen Hefferon
Dr. Srividhya Venkataraman
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1895 KiB  
Article
Novel Betanucleorhabdoviruses Infecting Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.): Genome Characterization and Genetic Variability
by Dana Šafářová, Thierry Candresse, Jana Veselská and Milan Navrátil
Pathogens 2024, 13(6), 445; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13060445 - 24 May 2024
Viewed by 927
Abstract
The genus Betanucleorhabdovirus includes plant viruses with negative sense, non-segmented, single-stranded RNA genomes. Here, we characterized putative novel betanucleorhabdoviruses infecting a medically important plant, elderberry. Total RNA was purified from the leaves of several plants, ribodepleted and sequenced using the Illumina platform. Sequence [...] Read more.
The genus Betanucleorhabdovirus includes plant viruses with negative sense, non-segmented, single-stranded RNA genomes. Here, we characterized putative novel betanucleorhabdoviruses infecting a medically important plant, elderberry. Total RNA was purified from the leaves of several plants, ribodepleted and sequenced using the Illumina platform. Sequence data analysis led to the identification of thirteen contigs of approximately 13.5 kb, showing a genome structure (3′-N-P-P3-M-G-L-5′) typical of plant rhabdoviruses. The detected isolates showed 69.4 to 98.9% pairwise nucleotide identity and had the highest identity among known viruses (64.7–65.9%) with tomato betanucleorhabdovirus 2. A detailed similarity analysis and a phylogenetic analysis allowed us to discriminate the elderberry isolates into five groups, each meeting the sequence-based ICTV demarcation criterion in the Betanucleorhabdovirus genus (lower than 75% identity for the complete genome). Hence, the detected viruses appear to represent five novel, closely related betanucleorhabdoviruses, tentatively named Sambucus betanucleorhabdovirus 1 to 5. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant Viruses)
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26 pages, 3600 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Diversity of Plant-Associated Viruses and Related Viruses in Riverine Freshwater Samples Collected in Berlin, Germany
by Roland Zell, Marco Groth, Lukas Selinka and Hans-Christoph Selinka
Pathogens 2023, 12(12), 1458; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12121458 - 15 Dec 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1812
Abstract
Plant-infecting RNA viruses from 30 families and floating genera, as well as a great number of uncultured as yet-unclassified plant-associated viruses have been described. Even so, the plant RNA virosphere is still underexplored. RNA extracted from enriched virus particles of 50 L water [...] Read more.
Plant-infecting RNA viruses from 30 families and floating genera, as well as a great number of uncultured as yet-unclassified plant-associated viruses have been described. Even so, the plant RNA virosphere is still underexplored. RNA extracted from enriched virus particles of 50 L water samples from the Teltow Canal and the Havel River in Berlin, Germany, was sequenced using Illumina next-generation sequencing. Sequences were searched for plant viruses with BLAST and DIAMOND. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted with IQ-TREE 2. Altogether, 647 virus sequences greater than 1 kb were detected and further analyzed. These data revealed the presence of accepted and novel viruses related to Albetovirus, Alphaflexiviridae, Aspiviridae, Bromoviridae, Endornaviridae, Partitiviridae, Potyviridae, Solemoviridae, Tombusviridae and Virgaviridae. The vast majority of the sequences were novel and could not be taxonomically assigned. Several tombus- and endorna-like viruses make use of alternative translation tables that suggest unicellular green algae, ciliates, or diplomonades as their hosts. The identification of 27 albeto-like satellite viruses increases available sequence data five-fold. Sixteen new poty-like viruses align with other poty-like viruses in a link that combines the Astroviridae and Potyviridae families. Further, the identification of viruses with peptidase A6-like and peptidase A21-like capsid proteins suggests horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of these viruses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant Viruses)
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21 pages, 3607 KiB  
Article
Optimization of a Protocol for Launching Grapevine Infection with the Biologically Active cDNA Clones of a Virus
by Mehdi Shabanian, Caihong Li, Ali Ebadi, Valerian Dolja and Baozhong Meng
Pathogens 2023, 12(11), 1314; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12111314 - 3 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1634
Abstract
Grapevine leafroll disease (GLRD) is the most globally prevalent and destructive disease complex responsible for significant reductions in grape yield and quality as well as wine production. GLRD is associated with several positive-strand RNA viruses of the family Closteroviridae, designated as grapevine [...] Read more.
Grapevine leafroll disease (GLRD) is the most globally prevalent and destructive disease complex responsible for significant reductions in grape yield and quality as well as wine production. GLRD is associated with several positive-strand RNA viruses of the family Closteroviridae, designated as grapevine leafroll-associated viruses (GLRaVs). However, the specific etiological role of any of these GLRaVs in GLRD has not been demonstrated. Even though GLRaV-3 is considered the chief GLRD agent, little is known about the molecular, cellular, and pathological properties of this virus. Such a knowledge gap is due to multiple factors, including the unavailability of biologically active virus cDNA clones and the lack of reliable experimental systems for launching grapevine infection using such clones. In this work, we tested four methods for inoculating tissue-cultured grapevine plantlets with cDNA clones of GLRaV-3: (i) vacuum agro-infiltration; (ii) agro-pricking; (iii) agro-drenching; and (iv) agro-injection. We showed that vacuum agro-infiltration was the most effective of these methods. Furthermore, we examined the impacts of different experimental conditions on the survival and infectivity rate of grapevines after infiltration. To verify the infectivity rate for different treatments, we used RT-PCR, RT-qPCR, and Western blotting. We found that humidity plays a critical role in the survival of plantlets after agro-infiltration and that the use of RNA silencing suppressor and dormancy treatment both had strong effects on the infection rates. To our knowledge, the experimental protocol reported herein is the most effective system for launching the infection of grapevine using cDNA clones of grapevine viruses featuring up to a 70% infection rate. This system has strong potential to facilitate grapevine virology research including the fulfillment of Koch’s postulates for GLRD and other major virus diseases as well as identifying the molecular, cellular, and pathological properties of GLRaVs and, potentially, other important grapevine viruses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant Viruses)
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9 pages, 1157 KiB  
Article
Optimization and Validation of Reverse Transcription Recombinase-Aided Amplification (RT-RAA) for Sorghum Mosaic Virus Detection in Sugarcane
by Fenglin Wang, Qinmin Liang, Rongman Lv, Shakeel Ahmad, Mishal Bano, Guangzhen Weng and Ronghui Wen
Pathogens 2023, 12(8), 1055; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12081055 - 18 Aug 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1294
Abstract
Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV) causes sugarcane mosaic disease and has significant adverse economic impacts on the cultivation of sugarcane. This study aimed to develop a rapid isotherm nucleic acid amplification method for detecting SrMV. Specific primers were designed to target the conserved region [...] Read more.
Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV) causes sugarcane mosaic disease and has significant adverse economic impacts on the cultivation of sugarcane. This study aimed to develop a rapid isotherm nucleic acid amplification method for detecting SrMV. Specific primers were designed to target the conserved region of the P3 gene of SrMV. The reverse transcription recombinase-aided amplification (RT-RAA) method was developed by screening primers and optimizing reaction conditions. Comparative analyses with RT-PCR demonstrated that the RT-RAA method exhibited superior specificity, sensitivity, and reliability for SrMV detection. Notably, using a standard plasmid diluted 10-fold continuously as a template, the sensitivity of RT-RAA was 100-fold higher than that of RT-PCR. Moreover, the RT-RAA reaction displayed flexibility in a temperature range of 24–49 °C, eliminating the need for expensive and complex temperature control equipment. Thus, this method could be utilized at ambient or even human body temperature. Within a short duration of 10 min at 39 °C, the target sequence of SrMV could be effectively amplified. Specificity analysis revealed no cross-reactivity between SrMV and other common sugarcane viruses detected via the RT-RAA. With its high sensitivity, rapid reaction time, and minimal equipment requirements, this method presents a promising diagnostic tool for the reliable and expedited detection of SrMV. Furthermore, it indicates broad applicability for successfully detecting other sugarcane viruses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant Viruses)
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