The pollen virome of wild plants and its association with variation in floral traits and land use.

ABSTRACT: Pollen is a unique vehicle for viral spread. Pollen-associated viruses hitchhike on or within pollen grains and are transported to other plants by pollinators. They are deposited on flowers and have a direct pathway into the plant and next generation via seeds. To discover the diversity of pollen-associated viruses and identify contributing landscape and floral features, we perform a species-level metagenomic survey of pollen from wild, visually asymptomatic plants, located in one of four regions in the United States of America varying in land use. We identify many known and novel pollen-associated viruses, half belonging to the Bromoviridae, Partitiviridae, and Secoviridae viral families, but many families are represented. Across the regions, species harbor more viruses when surrounded by

SUBMITTER: Fetters AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8791949 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature