A Mycovirus VIGS Vector Confers Hypovirulence to a Plant Pathogenic Fungus to Control Wheat FHB

Abstract

Mycovirus‐mediated hypovirulence has the potential to control fungal diseases. However, the availability of hypovirulence‐conferring mycoviruses for plant fungal disease control is limited as most fungal viruses are asymptomatic. In this study, the virus‐induced gene silencing (VIGS) vector p26‐D4 of Fusarium graminearum gemytripvirus 1 (FgGMTV1), a tripartite circular single‐stranded DNA mycovirus, is successfully constructed to convert the causal fungus of cereal Fusarium head blight (FHB) into a hypovirulent strain. p26‐D4, with an insert of a 75–150 bp fragment of the target reporter transgene transcript in both sense and antisense orientations, efficiently triggered gene silencing in Fusarium graminearum. Notably, the two hypovirulent strains, p26‐D4‐Tri101, and p26‐D4‐FgPP1, obtained by silencing the virulence‐related genes Tri101 and FgPP1 with p26‐D4, can be used as biocontrol agents to protect wheat from a fungal disease FHB and mycotoxin contamination at the field level. This study not only describes the first mycovirus‐derived VIGS system but also proves that the VIGS vector can be used to establish multiple hypovirulent strains to control pathogenic fungi.

The Wheat Endophyte Epicoccum layuense J4-3 Inhibits Fusarium graminearum and Enhances Plant Growth

“…Fungal plant diseases decrease the yield productivity of numerous economically important crops. FHB, a fungal disease caused by F. graminearum, is a devastating cereal crop disease that affects the yield and production of wheat [65]. The application of chemicals is frequently used as an intervention to quickly provide disease control [66].…”

Greetings from virologists to mycologists: A review outlining viruses that live in fungi

“…Extensive mycoviral research has been conducted on Fusarium graminearum (Chu et al, 2004;Yu & Kim, 2020). Notably, a new strategy has been conceptually demonstrated using mycoviruses as silencing vectors to suppress pathogenicity-related genes in F. graminearum (Zhang et al, 2023a). Furthermore, red bread mold, the model filamentous fungus, can serve as a platform for mycovirus research (Honda et al, 2020).…”

Advances in Understanding Fusarium graminearum: Genes Involved in the Regulation of Sexual Development, Pathogenesis, and Deoxynivalenol Biosynthesis

“…Furthermore, the use of mycovirusinduced hypovirulence also shows promise in managing fungal diseases. Recently, a VIGS (virus-induced gene silencing) vector, p26-D4, derived from F. graminearum gemytripvirus 1 (FgGMTV1), has been effectively developed to transform the cereal FHB pathogen into a less virulent strain [161]. The p26-D4-VIGS system offers a novel approach for managing FHB and presents an extra method for preventing fungal diseases in various crops [162].…”