Inseparable companions: Fungal viruses as regulators of fungal fitness and host adaptation

Abstract

Viruses are unanimously omnipresent in the biosphere While fungi are a major cause of human, animal, and plant disease, they too can be infected by viruses. Mycoviruses are viruses that use the fungal molecular machinery for self-replication and sustainability Mycoviruses are widespread in the fungal kingdom, infecting over 20% of tested isolates. The vast majority of so-far identified mycoviruses have (+)ssRNA or dsRNA genome organization, with a smaller representation of (-)ssRNA and ssDNA viruses (reviewed in While some mycoviral infections are benign, there are examples of mycoviruses having both beneficial and detrimental effects on their fungal host, such as modified virulence (hypo or hyper virulence)

Topics & Concepts