Metagenomic Studies of Viruses in Weeds and Wild Plants: A Powerful Approach to Characterise Variable Virus Communities

High throughput sequencing (HTS) has revolutionised virus detection and discovery, allowing for the untargeted characterisation of whole viromes. Viral metagenomics studies have demonstrated the ubiquity of virus infection – often in the absence of disease symptoms – and tend to discover many novel...

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Main Authors: Beata Hasiów-Jaroszewska, Dieke Boezen, Mark P. Zwart
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
Series:Viruses
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/10/1939
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author Beata Hasiów-Jaroszewska
Dieke Boezen
Mark P. Zwart
author_facet Beata Hasiów-Jaroszewska
Dieke Boezen
Mark P. Zwart
author_sort Beata Hasiów-Jaroszewska
collection DOAJ
description High throughput sequencing (HTS) has revolutionised virus detection and discovery, allowing for the untargeted characterisation of whole viromes. Viral metagenomics studies have demonstrated the ubiquity of virus infection – often in the absence of disease symptoms – and tend to discover many novel viruses, highlighting the small fraction of virus biodiversity described to date. The majority of the studies using high-throughput sequencing to characterise plant viromes have focused on economically important crops, and only a small number of studies have considered weeds and wild plants. Characterising the viromes of wild plants is highly relevant, as these plants can affect disease dynamics in crops, often by acting as viral reservoirs. Moreover, the viruses in unmanaged systems may also have important effects on wild plant populations and communities. Here, we review metagenomic studies on weeds and wild plants to show the benefits and limitations of this approach and identify knowledge gaps. We consider key genomics developments that are likely to benefit the field in the near future. Although only a small number of HTS studies have been performed on weeds and wild plants, these studies have already discovered many novel viruses, demonstrated unexpected trends in virus distributions, and highlighted the potential of metagenomics as an approach.
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spelling doaj.art-a357ce41f34d46a29d2630a94defbf9b2023-11-22T20:18:21ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152021-09-011310193910.3390/v13101939Metagenomic Studies of Viruses in Weeds and Wild Plants: A Powerful Approach to Characterise Variable Virus CommunitiesBeata Hasiów-Jaroszewska0Dieke Boezen1Mark P. Zwart2Department of Virology and Bacteriology, Institute of Plant Protection-National Research Institute, Węgorka 20, 60-318 Poznań, PolandDepartment of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The NetherlandsHigh throughput sequencing (HTS) has revolutionised virus detection and discovery, allowing for the untargeted characterisation of whole viromes. Viral metagenomics studies have demonstrated the ubiquity of virus infection – often in the absence of disease symptoms – and tend to discover many novel viruses, highlighting the small fraction of virus biodiversity described to date. The majority of the studies using high-throughput sequencing to characterise plant viromes have focused on economically important crops, and only a small number of studies have considered weeds and wild plants. Characterising the viromes of wild plants is highly relevant, as these plants can affect disease dynamics in crops, often by acting as viral reservoirs. Moreover, the viruses in unmanaged systems may also have important effects on wild plant populations and communities. Here, we review metagenomic studies on weeds and wild plants to show the benefits and limitations of this approach and identify knowledge gaps. We consider key genomics developments that are likely to benefit the field in the near future. Although only a small number of HTS studies have been performed on weeds and wild plants, these studies have already discovered many novel viruses, demonstrated unexpected trends in virus distributions, and highlighted the potential of metagenomics as an approach.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/10/1939HTSviromesweedswild plantsplant virus
spellingShingle Beata Hasiów-Jaroszewska
Dieke Boezen
Mark P. Zwart
Metagenomic Studies of Viruses in Weeds and Wild Plants: A Powerful Approach to Characterise Variable Virus Communities
Viruses
HTS
viromes
weeds
wild plants
plant virus
title Metagenomic Studies of Viruses in Weeds and Wild Plants: A Powerful Approach to Characterise Variable Virus Communities
title_full Metagenomic Studies of Viruses in Weeds and Wild Plants: A Powerful Approach to Characterise Variable Virus Communities
title_fullStr Metagenomic Studies of Viruses in Weeds and Wild Plants: A Powerful Approach to Characterise Variable Virus Communities
title_full_unstemmed Metagenomic Studies of Viruses in Weeds and Wild Plants: A Powerful Approach to Characterise Variable Virus Communities
title_short Metagenomic Studies of Viruses in Weeds and Wild Plants: A Powerful Approach to Characterise Variable Virus Communities
title_sort metagenomic studies of viruses in weeds and wild plants a powerful approach to characterise variable virus communities
topic HTS
viromes
weeds
wild plants
plant virus
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/10/1939
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AT markpzwart metagenomicstudiesofvirusesinweedsandwildplantsapowerfulapproachtocharacterisevariableviruscommunities