MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

Multiple Viral Infections in Agaricus bisporus – Characterisation of 18 Unique RNA Viruses and 8 ORFans Identified by Deep Sequencing

Summary

This research discovered that cultivated mushrooms can harbor up to 24 different viruses simultaneously while remaining healthy in most cases. This remarkable finding changes our understanding of viral infections, showing that multiple viruses can coexist within an organism without causing harm. However, environmental changes can disrupt this balance and lead to disease. Impacts on everyday life: – Helps explain why some mushroom crops develop disease while others remain healthy – Could lead to better disease management strategies in commercial mushroom farming – Challenges the common belief that viral infections are always harmful – May help develop new approaches for controlling viral diseases in crops – Provides insights for understanding complex viral infections in other organisms, including humans

Background

Multiple viral infections occur in many eukaryotic organisms including animals, plants and fungi. While viral infections are often associated with disease symptoms, they can also exist in persistent, asymptomatic states representing benign or possibly beneficial relationships with hosts. The cultivated mushroom Agaricus bisporus can harbor multiple viral infections, but the nature and interactions of these viruses were not well understood.

Objective

To identify, sequence and characterize the complete viral composition present in cultivated Agaricus bisporus mushroom fruitbodies using deep sequencing approaches, and to understand the relationships between multiple viral infections and disease symptoms.

Results

Thirty unique non-host RNAs were identified, comprising 18 distinct viruses encoding RdRp domains and 8 ORFans (RNAs with no similarity to known sequences). The viruses were classified into diverse viral orders/families, with most being only distantly related to known viruses. Two viruses were identified as multipartite. Sequence variability ranged over 2 orders of magnitude and evidence was found for recombination and horizontal gene transfer. Samples contained between 8-24 viral RNAs, with higher numbers in symptomatic samples.

Conclusion

This study revealed the most extensive collection of unrelated multiple viral infections yet described in a single host. Despite harboring numerous viruses, most infected mushrooms grew normally, suggesting effective co-existence strategies. The viral composition was dynamic, with evidence of gains and losses depending on environmental conditions. The findings suggest that disease symptoms may result from altered balance among viral populations rather than presence of specific viruses.
  • Published in:Scientific Reports,
  • Study Type:Laboratory Research,
  • Source: 10.1038/s41598-017-01592-9
Scroll to Top