A mycovirus modulates the endophytic and pathogenic traits of a plant associated fungus
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Fungi are generally thought to live in host plants with a single lifestyle, being parasitism, commensalism, or mutualism. The former, known as phytopathogenic fungi, cause various plant diseases that result in significant losses every year; while the latter, such as endophytic fungi, can confer fitness to the host plants. It is unclear whether biological factors can modulate the parasitic and mutualistic traits of a fungus. In this study, we isolated and characterized a mycovirus from an endophytic strain of the fungus Pestalotiopsis theae, a pathogen of tea (Camellia sinensis). Based on molecular analysis, we tentatively designated the mycovirus as Pestalotiopsis theae chrysovirus-1 (PtCV1), a novel member of the family Chrysoviridae, genus Alphachrysovirus. PtCV1 has four double-stranded (ds) RNAs as its genome, ranging from 0.9 to 3.4 kbp in size, encapsidated in isometric particles. PtCV1 significantly reduced the growth rates of its host fungus in vitro (ANOVA; P-value < 0.001) and abolished its virulence in planta (ANOVA; P-value < 0.001), converting its host fungus to a non-pathogenic endophyte on tea leaves, while PtCV1-free isolates were highly virulent. Moreover, the presence of PtCV1 conferred high resistance to the host plants against the virulent P. theae strains. Here we report a mycovirus that modulates endophytic and phytopathogenic fungal traits and provides an alternative approach to biological control of plant diseases caused by fungi.
Date Issued
2021-07-01
Date Acceptance
2021-01-13
Citation
The ISME Journal: multidisciplinary journal of microbial ecology, 2021, 15, pp.1893-1906
ISSN
1751-7362
Publisher
Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com]
Start Page
1893
End Page
1906
Journal / Book Title
The ISME Journal: multidisciplinary journal of microbial ecology
Volume
15
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International Society for Microbial Ecology 2021. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-00892-3
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000613979200001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Ecology
Microbiology
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
Publication Status
Published online
Date Publish Online
2021-02-02