Abstract

Infection by diverse mycoviruses is a common phenomenon in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. In this study, the full genome of a single-stranded RNA mycovirus, tentatively named Hubei sclerotinia RNA virus 1 (HuSRV1), was determined in the hypovirulent strain 277 of S. sclerotiorum. The HuSRV1 genome is 4492 nucleotides (nt) long and lacks a poly (A) tail at the 3ˊ- terminus. Sequence analyses showed that the HuSRV1 genome contains four putative open reading frames (ORFs). ORF1a was presumed to encode a protein with a conserved protease domain and a transmembrane domain. This protein is 27% identical to the P2a protein encoded by the subterranean clover mottle virus. ORF1b encodes a protein containing a conserved RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domain, which may be translated into a fusion protein by a -1 ribosome frameshift. This protein is 45.9% identical to P2b encoded by the sowbane mosaic virus. ORF2 was found to encode a putative coat protein, which shares 23% identical to the coat protein encoded by the olive mild mosaic virus. ORF3 was presumed to encode a putative protein with an unknown function. Evolutionary relation analyses indicated that HuSRV1 is related to members within Sobemovirus, but forms a unique phylogenetic branch, suggesting that HuSRV1 represents a new member within Solemoviridae. HuSRV1 virions, approximately 30 nm in diameter, were purified from strain 277. The purified virions were successfully introduced into virulent strain Ep-1PNA367, resulting in a new hypovirulent strain, which confirmed that HuSRV1 confers hypovirulence on S. sclerotiorum.

Highlights

  • Destructive crop diseases are caused by plant pathogenic fungi globally, making disease control for sustainable agriculture a constant and costly challenge [1,2]

  • A367-Hubei sclerotinia RNA virus 1 (HuSRV1). (a) Colony morphology of strains Ep-1PNA367, 277 and A367-HuSRV1 grown for 7 days on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 20 ◦ C. (b) Growth rates of strains Ep-1PNA367, 277, and A367-HuSRV1. (c) Pathogenicity assay of three strains on detached rapeseed leaves at 48 hpi, 20 ◦ C, and approximate 100% relative humidity. (d) Comparison of lesion diameters produced by these strains on detached rapeseed leaves

  • The first open reading frames (ORFs) (ORF1a) was found to encode predicted protein P1a (612 aa) with a predicted molecular mass of 65.82 kDa, and 27% identical to the P2a protein encoded by the subterranean clover mottle virus (GenBank accession number NP_715628)

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Summary

Introduction

Destructive crop diseases are caused by plant pathogenic fungi globally, making disease control for sustainable agriculture a constant and costly challenge [1,2]. Fungicides are widely used to control fungal diseases, but a large number of crops pose a difficulty with obtaining disease-resistant cultivars, and the increased application of fungicides carries a serious threat to human health and the environment. Some mycoviruses are natural promising agents known to control fungal diseases through the induction of hypovirulence [3,4,5]. They are prevalent in all major groups of phytopathogenic fungi [3].

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