Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824-1312, USA.
Virus Res. 2011 Aug;159(2):84-94. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2011.05.010. Epub 2011 May 19.
Plant viruses are widespread in nature, where they operate in intimate association with their hosts and often with vectors. Most research on plant viruses to the present has focused on agricultural systems (agronomic and horticultural) and viruses that are pathogenic. Consequently, there is a dearth of fundamental information about plant virus dynamics in natural ecosystems and how they might differ from or be influenced by virus interactions in managed systems. Key questions include under what conditions the influence of virus on host fitness is negative, neutral, or positive and the extent to which this relationship is influenced by ecosystem properties. To address these critical knowledge gaps, the expanding field of plant virus ecology seeks to examine (i) the ecological roles of plant-associated viruses and their vectors in managed and unmanaged ecosystems and (ii) the reciprocal influence of ecosystem properties on the distribution and evolution of plant viruses and their vectors. In this work, plant virus ecology draws on the achievements of epidemiology and extends the research focus to new ecological arenas. Here we provide an historical perspective and highlight key issues and emerging research directions. We suggest that there is broad need to (i) integrate consideration of plant viruses into ecological research and theory, in which viruses have generally been overlooked, and (ii) to expand ecological perspectives in virology to include new methods and disciplines in ecology, such as ecosystem ecology. Studies of plant-virus-vector interactions in nature offer both opportunities and challenges that will ultimately produce multi-faceted understanding of the role of viruses in shaping ecological and evolutionary dynamics.
植物病毒广泛存在于自然界中，它们与宿主密切相关，并且常常与载体相关。迄今为止，大多数关于植物病毒的研究都集中在农业系统（农学和园艺学）和病原性病毒上。因此，关于自然生态系统中植物病毒动态及其与管理系统中病毒相互作用的差异或影响的基本信息很少。关键问题包括病毒对宿主适应性的影响在什么条件下是负面的、中性的或正面的，以及这种关系在多大程度上受到生态系统特性的影响。为了解决这些关键的知识差距，植物病毒生态学这一不断扩展的领域试图研究（i）与植物相关的病毒及其载体在管理和非管理生态系统中的生态作用，以及（ii）生态系统特性对植物病毒及其载体分布和进化的相互影响。在这项工作中，植物病毒生态学借鉴了流行病学的成果，并将研究重点扩展到新的生态领域。在这里，我们提供了一个历史视角，强调了关键问题和新兴的研究方向。我们认为，广泛需要（i）将植物病毒纳入生态学研究和理论中，在这些研究和理论中，病毒通常被忽视，以及（ii）在病毒学中扩大生态学观点，包括生态学中的新方法和学科，例如生态系统生态学。对自然中植物-病毒-载体相互作用的研究既提供了机会，也带来了挑战，最终将使我们对病毒在塑造生态和进化动态中的作用有一个多方面的理解。
