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Illuminating the Plant Rhabdovirus Landscape through Metatranscriptomics Data
Nicolás Bejerman1,2, Ralf G Dietzgen3, Humberto Debat1,2
1Instituto de Patología Vegetal, Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (IPAVE-CIAP-INTA), Camino 60 Cuadras Km 5.5, Córdoba X5020ICA, Argentina.
Viruses
|August 10, 2021
Summary
Researchers discovered 27 new rhabdovirus genomes in public databases, expanding our understanding of plant viruses. This discovery aids in identifying crop diseases and refining virus classification through advanced genomic analysis.
Area of Science:
- Plant virology
- Genomics
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Rhabdoviruses are significant plant pathogens with RNA genomes.
- High-throughput sequencing has increased available plant rhabdovirus data.
- Previous studies have identified numerous plant-associated rhabdoviruses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discover novel rhabdovirus genomes hidden in public databases.
- To analyze the genomic organization and phylogenetic relationships of new plant rhabdoviruses.
- To highlight the utility of public sequence data for virus discovery.
Main Methods:
- Homology searches in NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) transcriptomes.
- Identification, assembly, and curation of viral sequences from raw SRA reads.
- Phylogenetic analysis of novel rhabdovirus genomes.
Main Results:
- Discovery of 27 novel rhabdovirus genomes from 25 plant species and one insect.
- Identification of sixteen full-length and ten partial viral genomes.
- Phylogenetic analysis placed new viruses within cytorhabdoviruses, alphanucleorhabdoviruses, betanucleorhabdoviruses, dichorhaviruses, and varicosaviruses.
- Novel genome organizations were observed among the identified viruses.
Conclusions:
- Analyzing public SRA data is crucial for accelerating virus discovery.
- The study provides a more complete phylogeny of plant rhabdoviruses.
- Findings reveal the complexity and diversity of plant rhabdovirus genomes and evolution.
