Metagenomics and New Virus-Like Sequences

As plant pathogens spread and emerge around the world, rapid and accurate pathogen detection and diagnosis are essential to successful management of emerging plant diseases. The ability to provide a fast, inexpensive and reliable diagnostic is essential to fight and control these ubiquitous pathogens. Viral Metagenomics provides a strong tool for virus identification and makes possible to understand their evolution and ecology.

During our metagenomics investigations, three new sequences that have similarities with viruses were studied: 1) the Podosphaera tridactyla partitivirus (PtV JX310368): a dsRNA virus of the Partitiviridae family infecting fungi, 2) a Southern Tomato virus (STV) like identified in Kerguelen Islands native Apiaceae Azorella selago. STV is a dsRNA member of the Amalgaviridae family, and 3) a Tenuivirus like sequence identified on Bermuda grass samples Cynodon dactylon. Recently this genus was assigned to Phenuiviridae family characterized with a negative-ssRNA linear genome.