Crop Resistance to Viral Infections

Dear Colleagues,

Viral infections cause devastating diseases in many crops. Using virus-resistant varieties is the most simple, effective, and economical way to control viral diseases. Therefore, searching for virus-resistant sources and their incorporation into the cultivated crop by conventional breeding or gene transfer are critical approaches against viral infection. Another way to prevent viral infection is cross protection by a mild virus strain, which does not cause adverse effects to the host crop but confers protection against the related virus strains. A beneficial mild strain can be obtained through natural selection, physical treatment, chemical induction, or genetic modification of viral pathogenicity factors. They have to be evaluated under greenhouse and field conditions, especially for strain-specific protection and synergic reaction with other viruses. Effective control by genetically engineered transgenic resistance has successfully been applied to prevent virus infection. This approach involves transgene construction, transformation, regeneration, and resistance evaluation. Transgenic crops resistant to virus infection have been commercialized for years. However, the long process of development and deregulation hampers the application of this very effective method.

In this Special Issue, we call for papers on both fundamental and applied aspects of crop resistance to viral infections. We welcome all types of manuscripts (e.g., reviews, research articles, and short communications), including novel findings for natural virus-resistant genes, the development and application of beneficial mild viruses, and the generation of transgenic crops resistant to viruses. All this information will help develop valuable strategies to prevent viral infections in crops.

Prof. Dr. Shyi-Dong Yeh
Guest Editor

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-anonymized 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.