The Silent Players of Forest Ecosystems: Viruses, Viroids, and Beyond
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Viruses of Plants, Fungi and Protozoa".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 59
Special Issue Editor
Interests: mycoviruses; hypovirulence; fungal and oomycete pathogens; endophytes; forest pathology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Forests are complex ecosystems where interactions among trees, fungi, and pathogens shape ecosystem stability and resilience. While significant attention has been focused on the roles of fungi and microbial pathogens, viruses, including both RNA and DNA, as well as viroids and other RNA circular agents, remain an overlooked but potentially crucial component of forest dynamics. This Special Issue will explore the diversity, ecological roles, and functional significance of these viral and RNA-based elements in forest ecosystems, with a particular focus on their interactions with fungi—both symbiotic and pathogenic—as well as trees and associated microbial communities.
Recent studies have revealed an unexpectedly high diversity of viruses in soilborne pathogens, with implications for pathogen reproduction and spread. Similarly, mycoviruses in ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi may influence fungal fitness, ecological interactions, and responses to environmental stressors. Viroids and other non-viral RNA agents, though less studied, have also been detected in plants and fungi, raising questions about their ecological functions and potential impacts on tree health, fungal symbioses, and disease dynamics. However, the ecological consequences of virus–fungus–host interactions remain largely unexplored, especially across climatic gradients.
For this Special Issue, we welcome research on the forest virome at multiple scales—from the molecular mechanisms behind virus– and viroid–host interactions to landscape-level patterns in RNA agent diversity. We encourage studies that combine high-throughput sequencing, experimental virology, and ecological modelling to better understand how these RNA- and DNA-based elements modulate forest health and productivity.
Dr. Leticia Botella Sánchez
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- forest virome
- mycoviruses
- viroids
- RNA circular agents
- virus-fungus interactions
- forest pathogens
- tree-associated viruses
- soil and rhizosphere viromes
- climate-driven viral ecology
- viral biocontrol
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