Mexico: A landscape of viroid origin and epidemiological relevance of endemic species

Authors: AVINA-PADILLA, KATIA - National Laboratory Of Genomics And Biodiversity; ZAMORA-MACORRA, ERIKA JANET - University Of Chapingo; OCHOA-MARTINEZ, DANIEL LEOBARDO - Colegio De Postgraduados; ALCANTAR-AGUIRRE, FLOR CITLALLY - The National Autonomous University Of Mexico; HERNANDEZ-ROSALES, MARIBEL - Langebio Cinvestav; CALDERON-ZAMORA, LORANDA - Autonomous University Of Sinaloa; Hammond, Rosemarie

Submitted to: Cells
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/26/2022
Publication Date: 11/3/2022
Citation: Avina-Padilla, K., Zamora-Macorra, E., Ochoa-Martinez, D., Alcantar-Aguirre, F., Hernandez-Rosales, M., Calderon-Zamora, L., Hammond, R. 2022. Mexico: A landscape of viroid origin and epidemiological relevance of endemic species. Cells. 11(22): Article 11213487. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11213487.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11213487

Interpretive Summary: Yield losses caused by viroids (small noncoding infectious RNAs) can reach 17-64% depending on the viroid strain and plant crop species worldwide. Viroid systemic infection in tomato is commonly associated with the development of severe symptoms, including stunting, leaf epinasty and distortion, veinal chlorosis, reduction of flower size, flower abortion, and reduced size and numbers of fruits. Mexico represents a geographical landscape of viroids that has been linked to their ancestry origin and comprises considerable biodiversity. The biological features of viroid species endemic to Mexico including in tomato, citrus, and avocado are highlighted in this communication Moreover, we report the phylogenetic relationships among strains, their economic impact, geographical distribution, and epidemiological features, including a broad host range and possible long-distance, seed, or insect-mediated transmission. In summary, this information will be of interest to scientists and regulatory agencies for a better understanding of the biology of viroid diseases and future programs on movement and spread control to avoid economic losses in agricultural industries.

Technical Abstract: Viroids are single-stranded, circular RNA molecules (234-406 nt) that infect a wide range of crop species and cause economic losses in agriculture worldwide. They are characterized by the existence of a population of sequence variants, attributed to the low fidelity of RNA polymerases involved in their transcription, resulting in high mutation rates. Therefore, these biological entities exist as quasispecies. This feature allows them to replicate within a wide range of host plants, both monocots and dicots. Viroid hosts include economically important crops such as tomato, citrus, and fruit trees such as peach and avocado. Given the high risk of introducing viroids to viroid disease-free countries, these pathogens have been quarantined globally. As discussed herein, Mexico represents a geographical landscape of viroids linked to their origin and comprises considerable biodiversity. The biological features of viroid species endemic to Mexico are highlighted in this communication. In addition, we report the phylogenetic relationships among viroid and viroid strains, their economic impact, geographical distribution, and epidemiological features, including a broad host range and possible long-distance, seed, or insect-mediated transmission. In summary, this communication could be helpful for a better understanding of the biology of viroid diseases and future programs on control of movement and spread to avoid economic losses in agricultural industries.