About this Research Topic
This Research Topic is the second volume of the Novel Insights into Plant-Geminivirus Interactions series:
Novel Insights into Plant-Geminivirus Interactions
Plant host responses to virus infections are extremely variable, spanning from no symptoms all the way to the death of the plant. Moreover, plants can sometimes respond in a way that precludes the virus from replicating, moving, or being acquired by the insect vector. Geminiviruses are ssDNA viruses transmitted by insects that infect a wide variety of plants in tropical, subtropical, and temperate areas of the world. These viruses replicate through double stranded intermediates in the nuclei of infected plants, for which they require the DNA replication machinery of the host. As such, the responses that they ignite and their reliance on the plant machinery for replication, movement, and transmission make them great models for the study of the plant processes as well.
As more and more geminiviruses are described, it has become clear that different geminiviral species can frequently co-colonize plants, which pushes the infection into a state of evolutionary pressure where mutation and recombination can go rampant. In other cases, geminiviruses can reach a dead end in their journey, if they infect a host from which they cannot be transmitted; on the other hand, new viruses occasionally jump from wild hosts into crops, exploiting their evolutionary potential and wreaking havoc in agricultural systems. The insect vector is another partner in this equation that is just starting to be dissected. In addition to geminiviruses, another group of ssDNA viruses has gained attention, the Nanoviruses, which are multipartite viruses also infecting plants.
We want to expand our call to include these viruses due to their growing importance in agricultural systems. Does the promiscuity of the vector facilitate new plant or crop colonization? Do viruses replicate in the insect? And, if so, at what rate? It is a general characteristic or it is restricted to some cases? Do mutualistic interactions exist between all ssDNA virus species and their vectors? What are the bases for these? At the same time, different viruses can induce distinct responses in the same plant; what do these differences rely on? Are the plant responses systemic or cell-autonomous? How can we separate them? Countless questions remain to be answered, underscoring our limited current knowledge and the urge to gain further insight into the molecular, physiological, and ecological mechanisms underlying the infection by ssDNA viruses.
This research topic aims to collect manuscripts dealing with the viral manipulation of the host and the plant response to geminivirus and nanovirus infection, focused also on viral evolution, diagnosis, and control strategies for geminivirus- and nanovirus-caused diseases. We hope that the studies collected in this Research Topic will shed light on the tripartite plant-virus-insect interactions, contributing to a deeper understanding that will ultimately pave the way to deal with these devastating pathogens. We encourage our colleagues studying ssDNA viruses hosted in plants to participate in this collection.
To gather further insights into the complex interactions between geminiviruses, nanoviruses, and their plant hosts, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Mechanisms of viral manipulation of host plant processes
- Plant immune responses to geminivirus and nanovirus infections
- Evolutionary dynamics of geminiviruses and nanoviruses
- Role of insect vectors in virus transmission and replication
- Diagnostic tools and techniques for detecting ssDNA viruses
- Control strategies and management practices for virus-induced plant diseases
- Comparative studies of geminivirus and nanovirus interactions with different plant species
- Molecular and ecological aspects of virus-vector-plant interactions
Novel Insights into Plant-Geminivirus Interactions
Plant host responses to virus infections are extremely variable, spanning from no symptoms all the way to the death of the plant. Moreover, plants can sometimes respond in a way that precludes the virus from replicating, moving, or being acquired by the insect vector. Geminiviruses are ssDNA viruses transmitted by insects that infect a wide variety of plants in tropical, subtropical, and temperate areas of the world. These viruses replicate through double stranded intermediates in the nuclei of infected plants, for which they require the DNA replication machinery of the host. As such, the responses that they ignite and their reliance on the plant machinery for replication, movement, and transmission make them great models for the study of the plant processes as well.
As more and more geminiviruses are described, it has become clear that different geminiviral species can frequently co-colonize plants, which pushes the infection into a state of evolutionary pressure where mutation and recombination can go rampant. In other cases, geminiviruses can reach a dead end in their journey, if they infect a host from which they cannot be transmitted; on the other hand, new viruses occasionally jump from wild hosts into crops, exploiting their evolutionary potential and wreaking havoc in agricultural systems. The insect vector is another partner in this equation that is just starting to be dissected. In addition to geminiviruses, another group of ssDNA viruses has gained attention, the Nanoviruses, which are multipartite viruses also infecting plants.
We want to expand our call to include these viruses due to their growing importance in agricultural systems. Does the promiscuity of the vector facilitate new plant or crop colonization? Do viruses replicate in the insect? And, if so, at what rate? It is a general characteristic or it is restricted to some cases? Do mutualistic interactions exist between all ssDNA virus species and their vectors? What are the bases for these? At the same time, different viruses can induce distinct responses in the same plant; what do these differences rely on? Are the plant responses systemic or cell-autonomous? How can we separate them? Countless questions remain to be answered, underscoring our limited current knowledge and the urge to gain further insight into the molecular, physiological, and ecological mechanisms underlying the infection by ssDNA viruses.
This research topic aims to collect manuscripts dealing with the viral manipulation of the host and the plant response to geminivirus and nanovirus infection, focused also on viral evolution, diagnosis, and control strategies for geminivirus- and nanovirus-caused diseases. We hope that the studies collected in this Research Topic will shed light on the tripartite plant-virus-insect interactions, contributing to a deeper understanding that will ultimately pave the way to deal with these devastating pathogens. We encourage our colleagues studying ssDNA viruses hosted in plants to participate in this collection.
To gather further insights into the complex interactions between geminiviruses, nanoviruses, and their plant hosts, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Mechanisms of viral manipulation of host plant processes
- Plant immune responses to geminivirus and nanovirus infections
- Evolutionary dynamics of geminiviruses and nanoviruses
- Role of insect vectors in virus transmission and replication
- Diagnostic tools and techniques for detecting ssDNA viruses
- Control strategies and management practices for virus-induced plant diseases
- Comparative studies of geminivirus and nanovirus interactions with different plant species
- Molecular and ecological aspects of virus-vector-plant interactions
Keywords: Geminivirus, Plant-Geminivirus-Insect Interactions, ssDNA Viruses, Plant Host Responses, Nanovirus
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
