Insect transmission of plant single-stranded DNA viruses

Of the approximately 1,200 plant virus species that have been described to date, nearly one-third are single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses, and all are transmitted by insect vectors. It is therefore of immense significance to investigate the insect transmission of plant ssDNA viruses.

In January, Prof. WANG Xiaowei from the Zhejiang University College of Agriculture and Biotechnology co-published a review with Stéphane Blanc from the University of Montpellier in the journal Annual Review of Entomology. The review describes the current understanding of ssDNA virus–vector interactions, including how these viruses cross insect vector cellular barriers, the responses of vectors to virus circulation, the possible existence of viral replication within insect vectors, and the three-way virus–vector–plant interactions.

The review also points out that more effort is needed to identify insect proteins that mediate the transmission of plant ssDNA viruses and to understand the complex virus–insect–plant interactions in the field during natural infection.