Viral Manipulation of Plant Stress Responses and Host Interactions With Insects

Publication date: Available online 25 July 2018Source: Advances in Virus ResearchAuthor(s): John P. Carr, Ruairí Donnelly, Trisna Tungadi, Alex M. Murphy, Sanjie Jiang, Ana Bravo-Cazar, Ju-Yeon Yoon, Nik J. Cunniffe, Beverley J. Glover, Christopher A. GilliganAbstractDo the alterations in plant defensive signaling and metabolism that occur in susceptible hosts following virus infection serve any purpose beyond directly aiding viruses to replicate and spread? Or indeed, are these modifications to host phenotype purely incidental consequences of virus infection? A growing body of data, in particular from studies of viruses vectored by whiteflies and aphids, indicates that viruses influence the efficiency of their own transmission by insect vectors and facilitate mutualistic relationships between viruses and their insect vectors. Furthermore, it appears that viruses may be able to increase the opportunity for transmission in the long term by providing reward to the host plants that they infect. This may be conditional, for example, by aiding host survival under conditions of drought or cold or, more surprisingly, by helping plants attract beneficial insects such as pollinators. In this chapter, we cover three main areas. First, we describe the molecular-level interactions governing viral manipulation of host plant biology. Second, we review evidence that virus-induced changes in plant phenotype enhance virus transmission. Finally, we discuss how direct and indirect manipulation...
Source: Advances in Virus Research - Category: Virology Source Type: research