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Viral Cross-Class Transmission Results in Disease of a Phytopathogenic Fungus

Summary

This research discovered that viruses can jump between different species of plant-infecting fungi and potentially change how harmful these fungi are to crops. The study found that a virus that doesn’t affect one fungus species can cause disease when it infects a different fungus species. This has important implications for agriculture and disease control. Impacts on everyday life: • Could lead to new environmentally-friendly ways to protect crops from fungal diseases • Helps understand how viruses spread between different organisms in nature • May improve our ability to predict and prevent crop diseases • Could reduce the need for chemical fungicides in agriculture

Background

Interspecies transmission of viruses is well documented in animals and plants but rarely experimentally proven in fungi. Most mycoviral infections are asymptomatic, likely due to their limited transmission capacity between individuals. However, cross-species viral transmission may have practical implications for fungal biology and disease control.

Objective

To investigate the cross-species transmission of a newly described double-strand RNA virus (LbBV1) between the fungal plant pathogens Leptosphaeria biglobosa and Botrytis cinerea, and examine its biological effects in both original and new fungal hosts.

Results

LbBV1 infection was asymptomatic in its original host L. biglobosa but caused hypovirulence when transmitted to B. cinerea, reducing sclerotia production and pathogenicity. Cross-species transmission occurred at rates of 4.6% on culture media and 18.8% on plant tissue. RNA sequencing of field isolates revealed that at least two other mycoviruses naturally transmitted between these fungal species during co-infection of plant tissue.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that cross-species transmission of mycoviruses can occur between evolutionarily distant fungi sharing similar ecological niches, potentially causing significant phenotypic changes in newly invaded hosts. Asymptomatic mycoviruses may serve as potential biocontrol agents when transmitted to different fungal species. The research suggests that viral cross-species transmission may occur more frequently in nature than previously thought.
  • Published in:ISME Journal,
  • Study Type:Experimental Research,
  • Source: 10.1038/s41396-022-01310-y
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