Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12, 44000, Islamabad, Pakistan; Department of Biotechnology, University of Mianwali, Punjab, 42200, Pakistan.
Research Centre for Viticulture and Enology, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-VE), Via XXVIII Aprile, 31015, Conegliano, (TV), Italy.
Virology. 2023 Aug;585:259-269. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2023.07.004. Epub 2023 Jul 10.
Mycoviruses are natural inhabitants of fungi and have been identified in almost all fungal taxonomic groups. Mycoviruses that infect phytopathogenic fungi are now becoming a hot research area due to their potential for the biocontrol of important plant pathogens. But, before considering a mycovirus for biocontrol, we should be fully aware of the effects it induces in a fungal host and its interactions with other viruses, fungal strains and even the host plants. Mycoviral infections are generally associated with different effects, ranging from hypovirulence to hypervirulence, but they can often be cryptic (latent infections). The cryptic lifestyle has been associated to many mycoviruses, but thanks to growing knowledge we are now aware that it is often associated to axenic conditions while the real effects can be observed only in nature. Other mycoviruses either promote (hypervirulence) or (hypovirulence) fungal pathogenicity by a strong impact on the fungal physiology or by blocking the production of toxins or effectors. Finally, indirect effects of mycoviral infections can also be provided to the plant that hosts the fungal isolate, highlighting not only their potential as direct biocontrol agents but also as priming agents for plant resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses. This review provides a broad overview of mycoviral interactions both with their hosts and with other mycoviruses, highlighting the most interesting examples. In contrast to what has been observed to date, we believe that the collective availability of these data will not only improve our understanding of mycoviruses, but also increase our confidence in considering them as alternative measures against fungal diseases to improve the sustainable production of food and feed commodities.
真菌病毒是真菌的天然居民，几乎在所有真菌分类群中都有发现。由于其对重要植物病原体的生物防治潜力，感染植物病原真菌的真菌病毒现在成为一个热门研究领域。但是，在考虑将真菌病毒用于生物防治之前，我们应该充分了解它在真菌宿主中引起的影响及其与其他病毒、真菌菌株甚至宿主植物的相互作用。真菌病毒感染通常与不同的影响有关，从弱毒到强毒，但它们通常可以是隐性的（潜伏感染）。这种隐性生活方式与许多真菌病毒有关，但由于知识的不断增长，我们现在意识到，它通常与无菌条件有关，而只有在自然界中才能观察到真正的影响。其他真菌病毒通过强烈影响真菌生理学或阻止毒素或效应物的产生，从而促进（强毒）或（弱毒）真菌致病性。最后，真菌病毒感染也会对宿主真菌分离物的植物产生间接影响，不仅突出了它们作为直接生物防治剂的潜力，而且突出了它们作为植物对生物和非生物胁迫的弹性的引发剂的潜力。本综述广泛概述了真菌病毒与其宿主和其他真菌病毒的相互作用，突出了最有趣的例子。与迄今为止观察到的情况相反，我们相信这些数据的集体可用性不仅将提高我们对真菌病毒的理解，而且还将增强我们对将它们视为防治真菌病害的替代措施的信心，以提高粮食和饲料商品的可持续生产。
