Many microbes "genetically invade" plants by introducing DNA or RNA molecules into the host cells. For example, plant viruses transport their genomes between host cells, whereas Agrobacterium spp. transfer T-DNA to the cell nucleus and integrate it into the plant DNA. During these events, the transported nucleic acids must negotiate several barriers, such as plant cell walls, plasma membranes, ...

The disease agents called viruses appear to be organic substances of such complexity that it is impractical to establish their identity by the classical methods of organic chemistry. However, certain useful methods are available which have been applied very successfully in demonstrating in tobacco mosaic disease that virus activity is a specific property of a high molecular weight nucleoprotein...

Capsids of numerous filamentous and rod-shaped plant viruses possess helical symmetry. In positive-stranded RNA viruses, helical capsids are typically composed of many identical subunits of the viral capsid protein (CP), encapsidating a molecule of viral genomic RNA. Current progress in structural studies of helical plant viruses has revealed differences between filamentous and rod-shaped virus...

Plant viruses constitute one of the main problems of the agricultural production worldwide (Kang et al., 2005). To date, there are not therapeutical measures available for the control of plant-virus diseases in the field and the main control strategy used in practice is based on prevention measures. Genetic resistance is by far the most effective way to control plant viruses. However, ‘traditio...

Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are becoming routinely employed in different fields of virus research. Different sequencing platforms and sample preparation approaches, in the laboratories worldwide, contributed to a revolution in detection and discovery of plant viruses and viroids. In this work, we are presenting the comparison of two RNA sequence inputs (small RNAs vs. ribosoma...