Skip to main content

About this Research Topic

Manuscript Submission Deadline 01 May 2023
Manuscript Extension Submission Deadline 31 May 2023

Mycovirology is a new and emerging field but is understudied as compared to plant, animal, and bacterial virology. Since their initial discovery in the mushroom Agaricus bisporus, mycoviruses remain poorly investigated despite their potential as biocontrol agents as exemplified for the chestnut blight fungus ...

Mycovirology is a new and emerging field but is understudied as compared to plant, animal, and bacterial virology. Since their initial discovery in the mushroom Agaricus bisporus, mycoviruses remain poorly investigated despite their potential as biocontrol agents as exemplified for the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica. Known mycovirus diversity is expanding following the development of novel technologies including next generation sequencing (NGS). NGS has accelerated the rate of mycovirus discovery revealing novel genomes from multivarious fungal and environmental sources often with novel features. Increased knowledge of mycovirus genome sequences requires their taxonomy to be updated continuously to incorporate extant and new families. The global diversity of mycoviruses needs further exploration to include screens of established and emerging fungal pathogens of humans, animals, and plants. Additionally, the phenotypical and biological impact of mycoviruses on fungal host fitness requires investigation at the molecular level especially with reference to the maintenance and transmission of mycoviruses. Multiple mycovirus infections of individual fungal hosts are commonplace but how such interactions are established and maintained requires further investigation at the molecular level. This is particularly relevant to probing interactions between the viruses themselves. The potential of mycoviruses as a safe option for biocontrol of fungal pathogens needs to be considered and virocontrol strategies to be developed.

The research topic “Mycoviruses of pathogenic fungi: The current research landscape” will cover all novel research concerning mycovirus diversity, characterization, taxonomy, evolution, replication and (neo-)lifestyle, together with interactions between mycoviruses and their fungal hosts. We especially welcome manuscripts describing the impact of mycoviruses on their original or experimental hosts. Studies implementing biocontrol/virocontrol strategies based on hypovirulent mycoviruses or focusing on how hypervirulent mycoviruses confer selective advantages to their fungal hosts are also of great interest. We encourage the submission of original research manuscripts as well as detailed reviews describing recent trends and advances in the field of mycovirology.

Keywords: Mycoviruses, Hypovirulence, Hypervirulence, Fungal pathogens, Biocontrol


Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic Editors

Loading..

Topic Coordinators

Loading..

Recent Articles

Loading..

Articles

Sort by:

Loading..

Authors

Loading..

views

total views views downloads topic views

}
 
Top countries
Top referring sites
Loading..

Share on

About Frontiers Research Topics

With their unique mixes of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author.