The study confirmed presence of over 60 plant viruses detected in crops, pastures and arable margins. Out of 63 plant viruses, the mode of transmission is known for 63.5% species (40 plant viruses). •Majority of viruses were described based on HTS analysis of plants, with no information about their transmission •55% of plant viruses with known transmission method is transmitted by aphids. •30% are transmitted by seed and/or pollen This work was funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 101106728 Other logos here Insect-transmitted plant viruses across crops and viral reservoirs in Ireland Marta Niedzicka*, Louise McNamara, Stephen Byrne Crop Science Department, Teagasc, Oak Park, Carlow, R93 XE12, Ireland *
[email protected] In most cases, plant viruses are spread from plant to plant through insect vectors. Among these vectors, aphids are the most prevalent, although some well-documented viruses are also transmitted by whiteflies, thrips, leafhoppers or planthoppers. While the impact of some insect-transmitted viruses, has been extensively studied, there remains a significant knowledge gap regarding other insect-transmitted viruses in plants. Specifically, there is a need to understand their current distribution, potential impact on crops in the context of the climate change, and the role of viral reservoirs in their spread. In this project we employed high-throughput sequencing (HTS) to conduct an untargeted survey of viruses, assessing their diversity not only in commercial crops, but also in potential viral reservoirs such as arable margins and pastures in Ireland. Images created with Biorender.com 23 22 12 2 2 1 1 63 plant viruses were detected among crops, pastures and arable margins. Among those plant viruses, mode of transmission is known for 63.5% viral species based on the literature review. Numbers on the graph represent the number of plant viruses transmitted with the specified mode. “?” refers to unknown mode of transmission. The same graph after exclusion of plant viruses with unknown mode of transmission 22 12 2211 Oat sterile dwarf virus is transmitted by the planthopper Javesella pellucida Based on the literature review, several aphid species are confirmed as efficient vectors of multiple plant viruses detected in the study: •Myzus persicae (e.g. beet yellows virus, pea enation mosaic virus, turnip yellows virus, cocksfoot streak virus) •Acyrthosiphon pisum (e.g pea enation mosaic virus, pea necrotic yellow dwarf virus, soybean dwarf virus) •Cavariella aegopodii (e.g. carrot mottle virus, carrot yellow leaf virus, Heracleum latent virus, parsnip yellow fleck virus – in presence of a helper virus)
