Poster: Biology & Disease Mgmt: Virology
104-P
The virosome of Rhizoctonia solani and its effect in fungal pathogenicity
T. STETINA (1), C. Rothrock (1), T. Spurlock (2), I. Tzanetakis (1) (1) University of Arkansas, U.S.A.; (2) University of Arkansas, U.S.A.
Rhizoctonia solani consists of at least 14 genetically distinct anastomosis groups (AG). Mycoviruses have been shown to play an important in fungal epidemiology and pathogenicity. The goals of this research are to understand mycovirus epidemiology in Rhizoctonia solani on important row crops in Arkansas and their potential to influence pathogenicity. Mycoviruses have been extracted from 190 geotagged isolates from five different fields using cellulose affinity chromatography. The cDNA from double-stranded RNA enriched material was sequenced and sequences analyzed to determine whether they belong to known or undescribed viruses. Detection primers were designed for each virus and then used in all geotagged isolates. Our results are consistent with previous research indicating that mycoviruses are commonly found in isolates of R. solani. More than 20 new viruses, belonging to at least three different virus families have been discovered. Future experiments will determine the effects of mycovirus presence on growth and virulence of the fungus, and to determine rates of horizontal transmission. Spatial analysis will determine whether interactions exist between Rhizoctonia spp., AG, and mycovirus distribution in fields, as well as crop and soil properties.