Skip to main content

Metagenomics show high spatiotemporal virus diversity and ecological compartmentalisation: virus infections of melon, Cucumis melo, crops and adjacent wild communities

Michael J McLeish, Adrián D. Zamfir, Bisola M. Babalola, Adrián Peláez, Aurora Fraile, Fernando García-Arenal https://doi.org/10.1093/ve/veac095 Comparison of the virome of melon crops and plants growing in adjacent edges uncovered a strong spatial structure of virus-plant interactions indicative of limited inoculum flow between plant communities. Most host plants showed no disease symptoms, which suggests non-antagonistic symbioses are common

The emergence of viral diseases involves transmission between wild plants and crops. However, the diversity of non-antagonistic symbioses that influence these dynamics among plant communities remains unknown.. High throughput sequencing was used to compare viruses of 41 species of wild plants growing in melon crop fields and the adjacent edges between crop fields. A rich virome was found, with 104 virus OTUs detected. Plant-virus interactions of the 41 plant hosts and 104 viruses were largely confined to one or the other of these two plant communities, indicating limitations to inoculum flows. Most hosts showed no disease symptoms, which indicated non-antagonistic symbioses are common. Increased specialist host use through the seasons coincided with changes in communities of the viruses and plant species. The coexistence of viruses within plant communities that are under constant change, promotes the evolution of a diversity of transmission strategies that may favour disease emergence



< back to blog index

Recent posts