Host Factors in Plant Viral Infections

Dear Colleagues,

Virus infections are the cause of numerous plant disease syndromes that are generally characterized by the induction of disease symptoms such as developmental abnormalities, chlorosis, and necrosis. How viruses induce these disease symptoms represents a long-standing question in plant pathology. Recent studies indicate that symptoms are derived from specific interactions between virus and host components. Many of these interactions have been found to contribute to the successful completion of the virus life-cycle, although the role of other interactions in the infection process is not yet known. However, all share the potential to disrupt host physiology.

The simple, obligate nature of viruses requires them to usurp or divert cellular resources, including host factors, away from their normal functions. As viruses invade susceptible plants, they create conditions that favor systemic infections by suppressing multiple layers of innate host defenses. When viruses meddle in these defense mechanisms, which are interlinked with basic cellular functions, phenotypic changes can result that contribute to disease symptoms.

A successful infection by a plant virus results from the complex interplay between the host plant and the invading virus. Host factors are implicated in all the major steps of the infection process. Some host factors are diverted for the viral genome translation, some are recruited to improvise the viral replicase complexes for genome multiplication, and others are components of transport complexes for cell-to-cell spread via plasmodesmata and systemic movement through the phloem.

For this Special Issue of Viruses, entitled “Host Factors in Plant Virus Infections”, we invite original research, review, and perspective pieces focusing on the host–pathogen interface.

Dr. Maria Amelia Sánchez Pina
Guest Editor

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