The molecular biology of tospoviruses and resistance strategies
Richard Kormelink
from: Bunyaviridae: Molecular and Cellular Biology (Edited by: Alexander Plyusnin and Richard M. Elliott). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2011)
Abstract
Within the family of Bunyaviridae tospoviruses represent the genus of plant-pathogenic viruses. Viruses of this genus are only transmitted by thrips in a propagative manner. Their host range includes economically important agricultural and horticultural crops but also ornamentals. The type species of the tospoviruses is Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), from which the siglum to-spo has been derived. TSWV is not only the best studied but also the most important member of this genus, having a host range that expands more than 800 different plant species within more than 80 different families, monocots as well as dicots (Goldbach and Peters, 1994; Peters, 1998). Tospoviruses have a worldwide distribution and not only occur in (sub)tropical regions, but also in temperate climate regions where they are more restricted to greenhouse cultivations. Among plant viruses, tospoviruses rank among the top ten of economically most important viruses wordwide with annual crop losses up to more than 1 billion US $. (Goldbach and Peters, 1994). In this chapter the current status will be presented on the molecular biology of Tospoviruses and disease management strategies using natural, RNAi- and protein-mediated transgenic resistance strategies read more ...
