Characterization of mint virus C, a new member of the genus Carlavirus.

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of a new carlavirus causing mosaic on mint plants in Italy, which we have tentatively named "mint virus C" (MVC). Flexuous particles of around 600 nm were observed using transmission electron microscopy, and next-generation sequencing was performed to determine the nucleotide sequence of the MVC genome, which was found to be 8558 nt long, excluding the poly(A) tail, and shows the typical organization of a carlavirus. The putative proteins encoded by MVC are 44-56% identical to the closest matches in the NCBI database, suggesting that MVC should be considered a member of a new species in the genus Carlavirus.

Evolution of a novel engineered tripartite viral genome of a torradovirus.

Viruses in the include monopartite and bipartite genomes, suggesting the possibility to study members of this family to experimentally address evolutionary transitions resulting in multipartitism. Torradoviruses are bipartite members of the family characterized by a genus-specific 5' open reading frame, named P21, encoded by RNA2. Here, in a study originally intended to verify if P21 can function , we attempted to provide P21 from a third P21-expressing construct under control of the 35S promoter and containing the 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs) of wild-type (WT) RNA2.

New clades of viruses infecting the obligatory biotroph representing distinct evolutionary trajectory for viruses infecting oomycetes.

Recent advances in high throughput sequencing (HTS) approaches allowed a broad exploration of viromes from different fungal hosts, unveiling a great diversity of mycoviruses with interesting evolutionary features. The word mycovirus historically applies also to viruses infecting oomycetes but most studies are on viruses infecting fungi, with less mycoviruses found and characterized in oomycetes, particularly in the obligatory biotrophs. We, here, describe the first virome associated to , the causal agent of lettuce downy mildew, which is an important biotrophic pathogen for lettuce production and a model system for the molecular aspects of the plant-oomycetes interactions.

Raman-dielectrophoresis goes viral: towards a rapid and label-free platform for plant virus characterization.

An innovative spectroscopic method that allows to chemically and structurally characterize viruses directly in suspension within few minutes was developed. A library of five different plant viruses was obtained combining dielectrophoresis (DEP), performed with a device specifically designed to capture and agglomerate virus particles, and Raman spectroscopy to provide a chemical fingerprint of virions. The tested viruses, purified from infected plants, were chosen for their economic impact on horticultural crops and for their different morphological and structural features.

Presence of a Mitovirus Is Associated with Alteration of the Mitochondrial Proteome, as Revealed by Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) and Co-Expression Network Models in Plants.

Plant mitoviruses belong to family and consist of positive single-stranded RNA genomes replicating exclusively in host mitochondria. We previously reported the biological characterization of a replicating plant mitovirus, designated Chenopodium quinoa mitovirus 1 (CqMV1), in some accessions. In this study, we analyzed the mitochondrial proteome from leaves of quinoa, infected and not infected by CqMV1.