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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Urbana, Illinois » Soybean/maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #321612
Title: Identification of diverse mycoviruses through metatranscriptomics characterization of the viromes of five major fungal plant pathogens

Author
item MARZANO, SHIN-YI - University Of Illinois
item NELSON, BERLIN - North Dakota State University
item AJAY, OLUTOYOSI - University Of Illinois
item BRADLEY, CARL - University Of Illinois
item HUGHES, TERESA - Monsanto Corporation
item Hartman, Glen
item EASTBURN, DARIN - University Of Illinois
item Domier, Leslie

Submitted to: Journal of Virology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/11/2016
Publication Date: 5/18/2016
Citation: Marzano, S.L., Nelson, B.D., Ajay, O., Bradley, C.A., Hughes, T.J., Hartman, G.L., Eastburn, D.M., Domier, L.L. 2016. Identification of diverse mycoviruses through metatranscriptomics characterization of the viromes of five major fungal plant pathogens. Journal of Virology. 90:6846-6863.

Interpretive Summary: Soybean provides essential nutrients for both humans and food animals, and is also an important source of bioenergy. Each year, fungal diseases significantly reduce soybean yields and seed quality. Some viruses that infect plant pathogenic fungi can be beneficial to plants in that they reduce the ability of the fungi to cause disease. In this study, we analyzed 275 isolates of five widely dispersed plant pathogenic fungal species (Colletotrichum truncatum, Macrophomina phaseolina, Phomopsis longicolla, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) for fungal viruses by high-throughput sequencing. The analysis identified partial or complete genome sequences of 63 fungal viruses, 48 of which had not been described previously. All of the novel fungal viruses had genomes composed of RNA. These results widened the range and diversity of mycoviruses and that will be useful to scientists interested in identifying biological agents that can moderate fungal diseases.

Technical Abstract: Infection of plant pathogenic fungi by mycoviruses can attenuate their virulence on plants and vigor in culture. In this study, we described the viromes of 275 isolates of five widely dispersed plant pathogenic fungal species (Colletotrichum truncatum, Macrophomina phaseolina, Phomopsis longicolla, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) using a high-throughput sequencing-based metatranscriptomic approach. To characterize the viromes, sequence data derived from total RNA preparations were assembled de novo, and contigs with predicted amino acid sequence similarities to viruses in the non-redundant protein database were selected. The analysis identified partial or complete genome sequences of 63 mycoviruses, 48 of which had not been described previously. The novel mycoviruses showed affinity with 16 distinct lineages: Benyviridae, Bornaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Chrysoviridae, Endornaviridae, Hypoviridae, Narnaviridae, Nyaviridae, Ophioviridae, Ourmiavirus, Partitiviridae, Rhabdoviridae, Tombusviridae, Totiviridae and Virgaviridae. Viruses were identified from families and genera that previously contained no fungal-infecting representatives. The metatranscriptomic screenings widened the range and diversity of mycoviruses and identified additional potential biological control agents.