Virus-Induced Diseases in Horticultural Plants

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 135

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
Interests: plant–pathogen interactions; molecular plant virology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Plant Pathology, CFAES Wooster campus (formerly OARDC), Selby Hall, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691, USA
Interests: plant virology; host resistance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Virus diseases in horticultural crops pose a major threat to global agriculture by influencing the quantity, quality, and marketability of the produce. Viruses are obligatory intracellular parasites that rely on host cell machinery for their replication, movement, and pathogenesis. The relationship between plant viruses and their hosts can be classified into host and non-host interactions at a broad level. Host–virus interactions are compatible in most instances, allowing the virus to enter the plant and replicate within host cells, causing disease. Non-host interactions are incompatible, preventing viral infection and limiting the development of disease.

In susceptible horticultural host plants, viruses hijack delicately regulated plant cell functions, taking over several host factors to enable infection, replication, and disease induction. In resistant hosts, the infection process is significantly hindered due to defense mechanisms within the plant, which have a tendency to confine the virus to the initial infection site. Host–virus interactions are often complex and mechanistically difficult to study. But understanding the mechanisms of natural resistance in plants is necessary to formulate a strategy against virus-borne diseases.

Horticultural crops have evolved sophisticated defense mechanisms to fight viral infection. Researchers across the globe are attempting to identify host factors responsible for resistance and how plant virus-encoded proteins manipulate such host defenses. Such research is critical in the study of plant immunity and could open up new antiviral strategies directed toward the improvement of resistance to viral disease in horticultural crops. Knowledge of the natural resistance, viral replication mechanisms, and defense mechanisms of the host against viruses is crucial to further enhance effective strategies to control virus-induced diseases in horticulture.

Dr. Prabu Gnanasekaran
Dr. Ved Prakash
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • viral disease
  • resistance factors
  • disease management

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 2298 KiB  
Article
Unveiling the Petunia hybrida Virome: Metatranscriptomic Profiling from the Bulgarian Market and In Vitro Cultures
by Rumyana Valkova, Stoyanka Jurak, Elena Apostolova-Kuzova, Vesselin Baev, Lilyana Nacheva, Galina Yahubyan, Dijana Škorić and Mariyana Gozmanova
Plants 2025, 14(16), 2597; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162597 - 21 Aug 2025
Abstract
RNA sequencing is a high-throughput sequencing method essential for unbiased detection and characterization of known and emerging plant viruses. Its high sensitivity makes it particularly well-suited for identifying low-abundance viral sequences, even in asymptomatic plants or those affected by complex, mixed infections. Here, [...] Read more.
RNA sequencing is a high-throughput sequencing method essential for unbiased detection and characterization of known and emerging plant viruses. Its high sensitivity makes it particularly well-suited for identifying low-abundance viral sequences, even in asymptomatic plants or those affected by complex, mixed infections. Here, we conducted a metatranscriptomic survey of Petunia hybrida plants from the Bulgarian market, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, and their corresponding in vitro plantlets. Viruses were detected in all tested samples demonstrating that visual symptoms are not a reliable indicator of infection. The viromes were dominated by petunia vein clearing virus (PVCV, Petuvirus venapetuniae), cucumber mosaic virus (CMV, Cucumovirus CMV), and tomato aspermy virus (TAV, Cucumovirus TAV), along with bacteriophages and fungus-associated viruses. However, the PVCV and CMV abundance was elevated in in vitro samples, possibly due to cutting-induced activation and/or prolonged cultivation. Phylogenetic analysis of the Bulgarian CMV, TAV, and PVCV isolates highlights their genetic links to strains from a wide geographic range and diverse hosts, emphasizing the potential for virus movement and genetic exchange among plant viruses across regions and species. It also suggests that petunias may contribute to the transmission dynamics of viruses within ornamental trade networks. These findings also emphasize the phytosanitary risks to horticulture and establish a basis for further investigation into plant virus ecology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus-Induced Diseases in Horticultural Plants)
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