New Virus Found in Passion Fruit Plants: Detailed Analysis and Characteristics

Jim Crocker
3rd September, 2024

New Virus Found in Passion Fruit Plants: Detailed Analysis and Characteristics

Image Source: Natural Science News, 2024

Key Findings

  • Researchers in Brazil discovered a new mitovirus in passion fruit, an important tropical crop
  • The virus, named "passion fruit mitovirus-like 1" (PfMv1), was identified through genomic analysis and confirmed using RT-PCR
  • This study expands the known host range of mitoviruses and highlights the need for ongoing viral surveillance in plants
Mitoviruses are a group of cryptic capsidless viruses that belong to the family Mitoviridae. These viruses are unique in that they replicate and are maintained within the mitochondria of fungi. Recently, complete mitovirus-like sequences have been identified from plant transcriptome data and plant leaf tissue samples, suggesting a broader host range for these viruses than previously thought. A recent study conducted by researchers at the Universidade Federal de Campina Grande has identified a new mitovirus associated with passion fruit (Passiflora spp.), an economically important crop in tropical and subtropical regions[1]. This discovery is significant because virus-induced diseases are a major concern for passion fruit production, and understanding the viral agents involved can help in developing effective management strategies. The researchers detected a de novo-assembled contig from a large-scale genomic study targeting viruses infecting Passiflora spp. in Brazil. This contig, approximately 2.6 kilobases long, showed similarity to other plant-associated mitoviruses and was named "passion fruit mitovirus-like 1" (PfMv1). The contig contained a single open reading frame (ORF) that encodes an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), an enzyme crucial for the replication of RNA viruses. An alignment of the predicted amino acid sequence of the RdRP of PfMv1 with those of other plant-associated mitoviruses revealed the presence of six conserved motifs typical of mitovirus RdRPs. This finding is consistent with previous studies that have identified similar conserved motifs in other mitoviruses, such as walking iris virus 1 (WIV1)[2] and Paris mitovirus 1 (ParMV1)[3]. PfMv1 showed 79% coverage and 50.14% identity to Humulus lupulus mitovirus 1, indicating a close relationship with other plant-associated mitoviruses. Phylogenetic analysis further supported the classification of PfMv1 within the genus Duamitovirus, clustering it with other plant-associated mitoviruses. This is in line with previous phylogenetic studies that have placed mitoviruses into distinct genera based on their RdRP sequences[2][3]. The researchers used reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect a PfMv1-derived fragment, confirming the presence of the virus in passion fruit samples. Importantly, no corresponding DNA was identified, ruling out the possibility that this sequence is an endogenized viral-like sequence, which can sometimes integrate into the host genome. This study is the first to provide evidence of a replicating mitovirus associated with Passiflora edulis, and the researchers propose naming it "Duamitovirus passiflorae". This discovery adds to the growing body of knowledge on plant-associated mitoviruses and highlights the diversity of these viruses across different plant species. Previous studies have identified mitoviruses in various hosts, including fungi and plants. For example, Rhizoctonia oryzae-sativae mitovirus 1 (RoMV1) was the first mitovirus genome sequence reported in the phytopathogenic fungus R. oryzae-sativae[4], and WIV1 was the first putative mitovirus identified in a monocotyledonous plant[2]. The identification of PfMv1 in passion fruit further expands the known host range of mitoviruses and underscores the importance of continued surveillance and genomic studies to uncover the full extent of viral diversity in plants. The increasing rate at which viral genome sequences are being determined has created a demand for computational tools to aid in their classification. The Sequence Demarcation Tool (SDT) is one such tool that provides a robust and reproducible means of using pairwise genetic identity calculations to classify nucleotide or amino acid sequences[5]. This tool can produce publication-quality pairwise identity plots and color-coded distance matrices, which can help researchers classify new viral sequences according to International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) criteria. In conclusion, the identification of PfMv1 in passion fruit by the Universidade Federal de Campina Grande researchers represents a significant advancement in our understanding of plant-associated mitoviruses. This discovery not only adds to the known diversity of mitoviruses but also highlights the importance of genomic studies in identifying and characterizing new viral agents that can impact economically important crops.

GeneticsBiochemPlant Science

References

Main Study

1) Detection and molecular characterization of a novel mitovirus associated with Passiflora edulis Sims.

Published 2nd September, 2024

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-024-06115-2

Related Studies

2) Complete genome sequence of a new mitovirus associated with walking iris (Trimezia northiana).

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-023-05901-8

3) Complete genome sequence of a novel mitovirus detected in Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-021-05339-w

4) Complete genome sequence of a novel mitovirus from the phytopathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia oryzae-sativae.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-017-3229-0

5) SDT: a virus classification tool based on pairwise sequence alignment and identity calculation.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108277


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