Potato Virus Y Emergence and Evolution from the Andes of South America to Become a Major Destructive Pathogen of Potato and Other Solanaceous Crops Worldwide

Abstract

The potato was introduced to Europe from the Andes of South America in the 16th century, and today it is grown worldwide; it is a nutritious staple food eaten by millions and underpins food security in many countries. Unknowingly, potato virus Y (PVY) was also introduced through trade in infected potato tubers, and it has become the most important viral pathogen of potato. Phylogenetic analysis has revealed the spread and emergence of strains of PVY, including strains causing economically important diseases in tobacco, tomato and pepper, and that the virus continues to evolve with the relatively recent emergence of new damaging recombinant strains. High-throughput, next-generation sequencing platforms provide powerful tools for detection, identification and surveillance of new PVY strains. Aphid vectors of PVY are expected to increase in incidence and abundance in a warmer climate, which will increase the risk of virus spread. Wider deployment of crop cultivars carrying virus resistance will be an important means of defence against infection. New cutting-edge biotechnological tools such as CRISPR and SIGS offer a means for rapid engineering of resistance in established cultivars. We conclude that in future, human activities and ingenuity should be brought to bear to control PVY and the emergence of new strains in key crops by increased focus on host resistance and factors driving virus evolution and spread.

The Resistance Responses of Potato Plants to Potato Virus Y Are Associated with an Increased Cellular Methionine Content and an Altered SAM:SAH Methylation Index

“…Losses of up to 45% of production have been estimated following primary PVY infection, but the largest losses are experienced when the crop is grown from PVY-infected seed (secondary infection), where yield reductions of up to 64% have been reported [ 41 , 42 ] depending on environmental conditions. One of the key environmental factors affecting plant-PVY interactions is temperature, which, according to climate change scenarios [ 15 ], is likely to be increased during the potato growing season. Many but not all defence responses to PVY can break down at high temperatures [ 43 ].…”

“…Potato virus Y (PVY), the type species of the genus Potyvirus , is one of the most economically important pathogens of potato, and it occurs worldwide [ 15 ]. Interestingly host-PVY interactions, as with many other host-virus interactions, are temperature-sensitive and may be regulated by elevated temperature in a cultivar-specific manner, possibly via the modulation of host defence responses [ 5 , 16 ].…”

Employing CRISPR/Cas Technology for the Improvement of Potato and Other Tuber Crops

“…Potato crops are suffering several pests and diseases, such as late blight (caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans ), Colorado potato beetle ( Leptinotarsa decemlineata ), bacterial wilt (caused by Ralstonia solanacearum ), early blight (caused by the fungus Alternaria solani ), and potato blacklegs (bacterial infection) ( Kieu et al, 2021 ) 3 . Various pathogen infections affect potato yield with high economic losses of 30–64% every year ( Torrance and Talianksy, 2020 ), even it is reached 88% ( Kolychikhina et al, 2021 ). So the identification and characterization of disease resistance genes in the major crops genome have been a main focusing issue for the research community.…”

Transcriptomic Reprogramming, Alternative Splicing and RNA Methylation in Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Plants in Response to Potato Virus Y Infection

“…Among these pathogens, viruses account for up to 50% of all novel and emerging plant diseases [ 1 ]. Potato virus Y (PVY) is one of the most important pathogens of potato, which has a significant negative impact on potato-crop yield and quality [ 2 , 3 ]. To help prevent such crop losses, it is essential that we improve plant resistance mechanisms against viruses, which constitutes the most efficient and reliable strategy for plant protection.…”