Moya-Ruiz Celia de, Ferriol Inmaculada, Gómez Pedro
Departamento de Biología del Estrés y Patología Vegetal, Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS)-CSIC, C.P. 30100 Murcia, Spain.
Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA)-CSIC, C.P. 28006 Madrid, Spain.
Viruses. 2024 Dec 20;16(12):1954. doi: 10.3390/v16121954.
Mixed infections of plant viruses are common in crops and represent a critical biotic factor with substantial epidemiological implications for plant viral diseases. Compared to single-virus infections, mixed infections arise from simultaneous or sequential infections, which can inevitably affect the ecology and evolution of the diseases. These infections can either exacerbate or ameliorate symptom severity, including virus-virus interactions within the same host that may influence a range of viral traits associated with disease emergence. This underscores the need for a more comprehensive understanding of how the order of virus arrival to the host can impact plant disease dynamics. From this perspective, we reviewed the current evidence regarding the impact of mixed infections within the framework of simultaneous and sequential infections in plants, considering the mode of viral transmission. We also examined how the temporal order of mixed infections could affect the dynamics of viral populations and present a case study of two aphid-transmitted viruses infecting melon plants, suggesting that the order of virus arrival significantly affects viral load and disease outcomes. Finally, we anticipate future research that reconciles molecular epidemiology and evolutionary ecology, underlining the importance of biotic interactions in shaping viral epidemiology and plant disease dynamics in agroecosystems.
植物病毒的混合感染在作物中很常见，是一个关键的生物因素，对植物病毒病具有重大的流行病学影响。与单一病毒感染相比，混合感染源于同时感染或相继感染，这不可避免地会影响病害的生态学和进化。这些感染可能会加剧或减轻症状的严重程度，包括同一宿主内病毒与病毒之间的相互作用，这可能会影响一系列与病害发生相关的病毒特性。这突出表明需要更全面地了解病毒侵染宿主的顺序如何影响植物病害动态。从这个角度出发，我们在考虑病毒传播方式的同时，回顾了当前关于植物同时感染和相继感染框架内混合感染影响的证据。我们还研究了混合感染的时间顺序如何影响病毒种群动态，并以两种由蚜虫传播的病毒感染甜瓜植株为例进行了说明，结果表明病毒侵染顺序对病毒载量和病害结果有显著影响。最后，我们期待未来能将分子流行病学和进化生态学结合起来的研究，强调生物相互作用在塑造农业生态系统中病毒流行病学和植物病害动态方面的重要性。
