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Mycoviruses: Antagonistic Potential, Fungal Pathogenesis, and Their Interaction with Rhizoctonia solani

Summary

This comprehensive review explores how viruses that infect fungi, called mycoviruses, could help farmers control rice diseases. Rice sheath blight caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani causes significant crop losses worldwide. Scientists have discovered that certain mycoviruses can weaken this pathogenic fungus, making them promising biological alternatives to chemical fungicides that can harm the environment and encourage disease resistance.

Background

Mycoviruses are fungi-infecting viruses prevalent in all major fungal kingdoms. Rice sheath blight caused by the plant-pathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani is a significant agricultural disease affecting 40% of the global population that relies on rice for food. Mycoviruses have been explored as potential biocontrol agents to manage fungal diseases sustainably.

Objective

This review examines mycovirology research on Rhizoctonia solani to demonstrate scientific advances in understanding mycoviruses and their potential for biological control. The study aims to provide comprehensive knowledge of fungal virus varieties, evolution, host interactions, and applications for managing sheath blight disease.

Results

The review identified approximately 100 viral infections in R. solani strains across 19 officially recognized mycovirus families and 1 unclassified genus. Multiple mycoviruses were characterized including partitiviruses, endornaviruses, hypoviruses, and ssRNA viruses, with many R. solani isolates showing co-infections of multiple viral species with different morphologies.

Conclusion

Mycoviruses show significant potential as biocontrol agents for managing rice sheath blight caused by R. solani. Future development requires identifying hypovirulence-associated mycoviruses and developing new tools based on host genome studies to effectively utilize these viruses as biological control agents against plant pathogens.
  • Published in:Microorganisms,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: PMID: 37894173
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