Abstract
ss(+)RNA viruses represent the dominant group of plant viruses. They owe their evolutionary superiority to the large number of mutations that occur during replication, courtesy of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Natural selection rewards successful viral subtypes, whose effective tuning of the ecosystem regulates the interactions between its participants. Thus, ss(+)RNA viruses act as shuttles for the functionally important genes of the participants in symbiotic relationships within the ecosystem, of which the most common ecological triad is “plant–virus–insect”. Due to their short life cycle and large number of offspring, RNA viruses act as skillful tuners of the ecosystem, which benefits both viruses and the system as a whole. A fundamental understanding of this aspect of the role played by viruses in the ecosystem makes it possible to apply this knowledge to the creation of DNA insecticides. In fact, since the genes that viruses are involved in transferring are functionally important for both insects and plants, silencing these genes (for example, in insects) can be used to regulate the pest population. RNA viruses are increasingly treated not as micropathogens but as necessary regulators of ecosystem balance.
Highlights
Viruses are highly adaptable to their environments because a huge number of genotypes emerge from the replication process, owing to the peculiarities of RNA-dependentRNA polymerase
After studying a large body of literature, we concluded that the frequency of mutations decreases for proteins located deeper inside the mature viral particle, whereas for proteins that come into contact with membrane receptors and help penetrate the host cell, this frequency is higher
A promising offshoot of this concept is the possibility of using gene sequences transthe maximum adaptation of organisms to each other and play an important role ferred from one organism to another, since, as a rule, these functionally important genes in the cell
Summary
Viruses are highly adaptable to their environments because a huge number of genotypes emerge from the replication process, owing to the peculiarities of RNA-dependent. The unique viral life cycle allows the survival of sometimes only a few host cells under conditions with access to minimal resources. Plant viruses seek refuge in the host cell, achieving a certain balance between reproduction and the consumption of its resources, and finding evolutionarily advantageous mechanisms that allow symbiotic coexistence. The triangle “plant–virus–insect” best describes the life cycle of plant ss(+)RNA viruses, where the plant is the place of reproduction, and the insect is the distributor, and sometimes the place of reproduction, as well. We will try to expand this triangle into a square by including humans, whose understanding of how the relationships in the ecological triangle “plant–virus–insect” function will help in the practical application of this knowledge, both for selective insect control and for rethinking the fight against viral diseases in plants
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