Fluorescence imaging reveals that two different genomic segments of FBNSV (in green and red) occur in distinct host plant cells; the segments were localised by in situ hybridisation.
INRA, CIRAD, and CNRS researchers recently made an unprecedented discovery: the different genomic segments of a multipartite 1 virus can occupy distinct cells within their host but still work together to generate infection. This finding challenges a key paradigm in virology, notably that a virus's entire genome must enter a given cell and replicate therein before repeating the process in subsequent cells, thus causing infection. It is the first time that a virus has been shown to have a multicellular mode of existence, and this way of life may occur in other viruses as well. These findings should fuel novel research perspectives in virology. Multipartite viruses are poorly understood even though they represent nearly 40% of the virus families and genera observed in plants. Researchers from INRA, CIRAD, and CNRS carried out a study on the faba bean necrotic stunt virus (FBNSV), a multipartite virus in plants that causes severe infections in legumes. Its genome has eight different segments, which are each enclosed in different capsids.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
