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Microorganisms
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Viroids
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Viroids

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Microbe Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 9068

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nuria Duran-Vila

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Protección Vegetal y Biotecnología, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Moncada, 46113 Valencia, Spain
Interests: plant diseases; viroids; viroid-host interactions; viroid diseases
Dr. Pedro Serra Alfonso

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas ((UPV/CSIC), Av. Ingeniero Fausto Elio, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: plant diseases; viroids; viroid-host interactions; viroid diseases

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Viroids are small covalently closed single-stranded RNAs that infect plants. Since they were discovered in 1971-1972 as disease-causing agents of economically important crops, they were, and still are, considered as virus-like plant pathogens. However, in addition to their small size (in the range of 250-400 nt), viroids do not code for proteins and are fully associated with their hosts.

Early work was essentially based on the use of biological approaches such as the use of indexing methods using indicator plants. However, the development of a wide range of molecular approaches has been critical/essential for the discovery of new viroids, viroid strains, as well as the identification of symptomless hosts. Essentially, two types of viroids have been well identified and characterized with those belonging to the Avsunviroidae family having essential features needed for viroid replication. In addition, the fact that viroids follow a quasi-species model provides a situation that enhances their survival as well as the adaptation to new hosts.

In spite of the limited number of viroids that have been identified and characterized, they cover a wide range of plant hosts: i) Vegetatively-propagated hosts enhancing their survival in the progeny; ii) Seed-propagated hosts that may or may not transfer viroids to their progeny; iii) Hosts affected by viroids containing viroid-like satellite RNAs; iv) Wild plant species with very limited information regarding their relationship with viroids and viroid-like satellite RNAs.

Further research should also focus on viroids as biological beings (not only as plant pathogens) focusing on their survival, prevalence, and role on the living world. This would provide information in terms of their present role and also as biological ancestors of the present world.

Dr. Nuria Duran-Vila
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Viroid and viroid-like agents affecting vegetatively propagated crops
  • Viroid and viroid-like agents affecting seed propagated crops
  • Viroid and viroid-like agents identified in wild type species
  • Relationship between new viroid and viroid-like agents
  • Biological properties new viroid and viroid-like agents

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 4650 KiB  
Article
Transcriptome Analysis of Citrus Dwarfing Viroid Induced Dwarfing Phenotype of Sweet Orange on Trifoliate Orange Rootstock
by Irene Lavagi-Craddock, Tyler Dang, Stacey Comstock, Fatima Osman, Sohrab Bodaghi and Georgios Vidalakis
Microorganisms 2022, 10(6), 1144; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10061144 - 1 Jun 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2529
Abstract
Dwarfed citrus trees for high-density plantings or mechanized production systems will be key for future sustainable citrus production. Citrus trees consist of two different species of scion and rootstock. Therefore, any observed phenotype results from gene expression in both species. Dwarfed sweet orange [...] Read more.
Dwarfed citrus trees for high-density plantings or mechanized production systems will be key for future sustainable citrus production. Citrus trees consist of two different species of scion and rootstock. Therefore, any observed phenotype results from gene expression in both species. Dwarfed sweet orange trees on trifoliate rootstock have been produced using citrus dwarfing viroid (CDVd). We performed RNA-seq transcriptome analysis of CDVd-infected stems and roots and compared them to non-infected controls. The identified differentially expressed genes validated with RT-qPCR corresponded to various physiological and developmental processes that could be associated with the dwarfing phenotype. For example, the transcription factors MYB13 and MADS-box, which regulate meristem functions and activate stress responses, were upregulated in the stems. Conversely, a calcium-dependent lipid-binding protein that regulates membrane transporters was downregulated in the roots. Most transcriptome reprogramming occurred in the scion rather than in the rootstock; this agrees with previous observations of CDVd affecting the growth of sweet orange stems while not affecting the trifoliate rootstock. Furthermore, the lack of alterations in the pathogen defense transcriptome supports the term “Transmissible small nuclear ribonucleic acid,” which describes CDVd as a modifying agent of tree performance with desirable agronomic traits rather than a disease-causing pathogen. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viroids)
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23 pages, 11077 KiB  
Article
Reassessment of the Columnea latent viroid (CLVd) Taxonomic Classification
by Parichate Tangkanchanapas, Annelies Haegeman, Monica Höfte and Kris De Jonghe
Microorganisms 2021, 9(6), 1117; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9061117 - 21 May 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2497
Abstract
Columnea latent viroid (CLVd) is a member of the Pospiviroid family and its naked circular RNA genome typically forms native “rod-like” secondary structures. In this work, the CLVd taxonomy was reevaluated based on sequence similarity and phylogenetic analysis, as well as the evaluation [...] Read more.
Columnea latent viroid (CLVd) is a member of the Pospiviroid family and its naked circular RNA genome typically forms native “rod-like” secondary structures. In this work, the CLVd taxonomy was reevaluated based on sequence similarity and phylogenetic analysis, as well as the evaluation of the symptom development and disease severity of four selected CLVd isolates in a range of host species. The phylogenetic analysis showed that all CLVd isolates were clustered into five distinct clades: (I) severe isolates originally found in tomato crops in Thailand, (II) ornamental isolates, (III) mild isolates originally found in tomato crops in Thailand, and two clades (IV and V) containing mild isolates originating mainly from tomato crops in European countries, with different virulence levels on several hosts. Our analysis demonstrated that some CLVd isolates have a sequence similarity of less than 90% within the species taxon, as well as distinct biological characteristics (symptom development and virulence), both of which are important ICTV criteria for viroid classification. For these reasons, we propose that CLVd should be re-classified into at least three main taxonomic lineages: a “CLVd-tomato Asian lineage” (I), a “CLVd-tomato European lineage” (IV) and a “CLVd-ornamental European lineage” (II), plus two minor lineages (III and V), fitting the ICTV criteria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viroids)
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7 pages, 1560 KiB  
Communication
Time-Resolved Observation of the Destination of Microinjected Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid (PSTVd) in the Abaxial Leaf Epidermal Cells of Nicotiana benthamiana
by Hyesu Seo, Ying Wang and Woong June Park
Microorganisms 2020, 8(12), 2044; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8122044 - 20 Dec 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2448
Abstract
Viroids are single-stranded noncoding RNA molecules of 250–400 nucleotides that cause plant diseases. One of the two families of viroids is Pospiviroidae, the members of which replicate in the nuclei of host cells. To replicate in plants, viroids of Pospiviroidae must enter the [...] Read more.
Viroids are single-stranded noncoding RNA molecules of 250–400 nucleotides that cause plant diseases. One of the two families of viroids is Pospiviroidae, the members of which replicate in the nuclei of host cells. To replicate in plants, viroids of Pospiviroidae must enter the nucleus. However, the nuclear import of viroids remains understudied. In this work, we documented the time-dependent characteristics of the changes in microinjected fluorescently labeled potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd). The cytoplasmic fluorescence disappeared gradually, with only nuclear fluorescence remaining as the PSTVd injected in the cytoplasm was imported into the nucleus. Through this work, we determined that the time for half-maximal nuclear accumulation of the viroid was about 23 min. Interestingly, we found some cells where the nuclear import did not occur, despite the high level of cytosolic viroid injected. In some cells, the injected viroids disappeared within 10–20 min. The nuclear import of PSTVd is not a simple concentration-dependent process but was probably under the regulation of diverse factors that may be missing from some cells used for our observation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viroids)
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