Publications by authors named "M Botermans"

Article Synopsis
  • A team of over 180 researchers from more than 40 countries is addressing the issues related to "phantom agents," which are proposed pathogenic agents that are listed without concrete evidence of their existence.
  • These phantom agents, identified only through symptoms and lacking proper isolates or genetic data, create obstacles for trade and plant certification, making effective detection and risk assessment difficult.
  • The researchers recommend removing these agents from regulatory lists and updating standards in line with modern diagnostic methods to facilitate germplasm exchange and support global agriculture.
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In 2014, Physostegia chlorotic mottle virus (PhCMoV) was discovered in Austria in . Subsequent collaborative efforts established a link between the virus and severe fruit symptoms on important crops such as tomato, eggplant, and cucumber across nine European countries. Thereafter, specific knowledge gaps, which are crucial to assess the risks PhCMoV can pose for production and how to manage it, needed to be addressed.

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Article Synopsis
  • A novel tri-segmented RNA virus named "Mercurialis latent virus" (MeLaV) infects the plant Mercurialis annua, first identified in Switzerland alongside another virus, Mercurialis orthotospovirus 1 (MerV1).
  • Both viruses are transmitted by Thrips tabaci, suggesting these insects facilitate the spread of MeLaV, especially through infected pollen.
  • Genome sequencing revealed MeLaV's close relationship to Ilarvirus subgroup members and a surprising sequence similarity to grapevine angular mosaic virus (GAMV), challenging previous assumptions about GAMV's role in grapevine disease and indicating potential misidentifications in earlier studies.
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A previously uncharacterized torradovirus species infecting potatoes was detected by high-throughput sequencing from field samples from Peru and in customs intercepts in potato tubers that originated from South America in the United States of America and the Netherlands. This new potato torradovirus showed high nucleotide sequence identity to an unidentified isometric virus (SB26/29), which was associated with a disease named potato rugose stunting in southern Peru characterized over two decades ago. Thus, this virus is tentatively named potato rugose stunting virus (PotRSV).

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The advances in high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies and bioinformatic tools have provided new opportunities for virus and viroid discovery and diagnostics. Hence, new sequences of viral origin are being discovered and published at a previously unseen rate. Therefore, a collective effort was undertaken to write and propose a framework for prioritizing the biological characterization steps needed after discovering a new plant virus to evaluate its impact at different levels.

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