Application of Genetically Engineered Plant Viruses, 2nd Edition

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: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 702

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan
Interests: plant virology; plant pathology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan
Interests: plant molecular biotechnology; plant viruses; plant pathology; molecular biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant viruses seriously affect crop cultivation and agricultural production worldwide. They are not always a threat but can be friends. Infectious clones of many plant viruses have been constructed and modified through genetic engineering for the study of viral pathogenesis. Attenuated plant viruses can be used as vaccines for crop protection. Viral vectors engineered from infectious clones of plant viruses are effective tools for overexpressing genes of interest in plants for human/animal disease treatment and health. Plant viral vectors have also been exploited to knock down plant gene expression through virus-induced gene silencing.

In this Special Issue, we welcome a wide range of articles, including original research, short communications, and reviews, that focus on the application of genetically engineered plant viruses in agriculture, medicine, human/animal health, and other fields. Your research achievements will significantly contribute to enhancing our understanding of this field. We look forward to receiving your submissions for this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Tsung-Chi Chen
Dr. Chu-Hui Chiang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant virus
  • infectious clone
  • viral vector
  • virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS)
  • virus-like particles (VLPs)
  • cross-protection

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

19 pages, 3277 KB  
Article
Generation of Zucchini Tigre Mosaic Virus Mild Strains for Application in Cross-Protection
by Chung-Hao Huang, Li-Cheng Chuang and Yuh-Kun Chen
Viruses 2026, 18(4), 411; https://doi.org/10.3390/v18040411 - 26 Mar 2026
Viewed by 519
Abstract
Zucchini tigre mosaic virus (ZTMV; Potyvirus pepotigris), which infects wax gourd (Benincasa hispida), was first identified in Taiwan in 2017 and designated ZTMV-TW. In this study, mild strains of ZTMV-TW were generated by modifying the pathogenicity factor HC-Pro to develop [...] Read more.
Zucchini tigre mosaic virus (ZTMV; Potyvirus pepotigris), which infects wax gourd (Benincasa hispida), was first identified in Taiwan in 2017 and designated ZTMV-TW. In this study, mild strains of ZTMV-TW were generated by modifying the pathogenicity factor HC-Pro to develop cross-protection strategies for cucurbit crops. A full-length infectious cDNA clone of ZTMV-TW was cloned in pCAMBIA1304 under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter (ZTMV-TWic). ZTMV-TWic induced typical potyvirus particles, cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, and severe symptoms in wax gourd, pumpkin, and zucchini plants. Conserved motifs of HC-Pro were mutated to generate four single mutants (F7I, R181I, F206L, and D397N) and three double mutants (F7I+F206L, R181I+D397N, and F206L+D397N). Mutants R181I and R181I+D397N caused mild or no symptoms in zucchini, while D397N and F206L+D397N were mild in wax gourd. Cross-protection assays showed that R181I and R181I+D397N provided complete protection against ZTMV-GFP in zucchini, whereas D397N and F206L+D397N conferred high protection in wax gourd. These results demonstrate the feasibility of host-specific mild strain selection for effective ZTMV cross-protection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Genetically Engineered Plant Viruses, 2nd Edition)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop