Uirusu
Online ISSN : 1884-3433
Print ISSN : 0042-6857
ISSN-L : 0042-6857
Special Issue: Virology of double strand RNA viruses
Diverse double-stranded RNA viruses infecting fungi
Sotaro CHIBANobuhiro SUZUKI
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2014 Volume 64 Issue 2 Pages 225-238

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Abstract
Most of reported fungal viruses (mycoviruses) have double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) genomes. This may reflect the simple, easy method for mycovirus hunting that entails detection of dsRNAs as a sign of viral infections. There are an increasing number of screens of various fungi, particularly phytopathogenic fungi for viruses pathogenic to host fungi or able to confer hypovirulence to them. This bases on an attractive research field of biological control of fungal plant diseases using viruses (virocontrol), mainly targeting important phytopathogenic fungi. While isolated viruses usually induce asymptomatic symptoms, they show a considerably high level of diversity. As of 2014, fungal dsRNA viruses are classified into six families: Reoviridae, Totiviridae, Chrysoviridae, Partitiviridae, Megabirnaviridae and Quadriviridae. These exclude unassigned mycoviruses which will definitely be placed into distinct families and/or genera. In this review article, dsRNA viruses isolated from the kingdom Fungi including as-yet-unclassified taxa are overviewed. Some recent achievements in the related field are briefly introduced as well.
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© 2014 by The Japanese Society for Virology
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