Mycovirus-induced Hypovirulence in Notorious Fungi Sclerotinia: a Comprehensive Review

Members of the genus Sclerotinia are notorious plant pathogens with a diverse host range that includes many important crops. A huge number of mycoviruses have been identified in this genus; some of these viruses are reported to have a hypovirulent effect on the fitness of their fungal hosts. These mycoviruses are important to researchers from a biocontrol perspective which was first implemented against fungal diseases in 1990. In this review, we have presented the data of all hypovirulent mycoviruses infecting Sclerotinia sclerotiorum isolates. The data of hypovirulent mycoviruses ranges from 1992 to 2023. Currently, mycoviruses belonging to 17 different families, including (+) ssRNA, (-ssRNA), dsRNA, and ssDNA viruses, have been reported from this genus. Advances in studies had shown a changed expression of certain host genes (responsible for cell cycle regulation, DNA replication, repair pathways, ubiquitin proteolysis, gene silencing, methylation, pathogenesis-related, sclerotial development, carbohydrate metabolism, and oxalic acid biosynthesis) during the course of mycoviral infection, which were termed differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Together, research on fungal viruses and hypovirulence in Sclerotinia species can deepen our understanding of the cellular processes that affect how virulence manifests in these phytopathogenic fungi and increase the potential of mycoviruses as a distinct mode of biological control. Furthermore, the gathered data can also be used for in-silico analysis, which includes finding the signature sites [e.g., hypovirus papain-like protease (HPP) domain, "CCHH" motif, specific stem-loop structures, p29 motif as in CHV1, A-rich sequence, CA-rich sequences as in MoV1, GCU motif as in RnMBV1, Core motifs in hypovirus-associated RNA elements (HAREs) as in CHV1] that are possibly responsible for hypovirulence in mycoviruses.