Description, Distribution, and Relevance of Viruses of the Forest Pathogen Gremmeniella abietina

Leticia Botella, Jarkko Hantula

The European race of the ascomycetous species Gremmeniella abietina (Lagerberg) Morelet includes causal agents of shoot blight and stem canker of several conifers in Europe and North America, which are known to host a diverse virome. GaRV6 is the latest and sixth mycovirus species reported within G. abietina. Before its description, one victorivirus and one gammapartitivirus species were described in biotype A, two mitoviruses in both biotypes A and B and a betaendornavirus in biotype B. Possible phenotypic changes produced by mycoviruses on G. abietina mycelial growth have been reported in Spanish mitovirus-free and GaRV6-hosting G. abietina isolates, which had higher growth rates at the optimal temperature of 15 °C, but no other major differences have been observed between partitivirus-like dsRNA and dsRNA-free isolates. In this review, we reappraise the diversity of viruses found in G. abietina so far, and their relevance in clarifying the taxonomy of G. abietina. We also provide evidence for the presence of two new viruses belonging to the families Fusariviridae and Endornaviridae in Spanish isolates.

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