Going Viral: Virus-Based Biological Control Agents for Plant Protection.

Abstract

The most economically important biotic stresses in crop production are caused by fungi, oomycetes, insects, viruses, and bacteria. Often chemical control is still the most commonly used method to manage them. However, the development of resistance in the different pathogens/pests, the putative damage on the natural ecosystem, and the toxic residues in the field and thus contamination of the environment have stimulated the search for safer alternatives such as the use of biological control agents (BCAs). Among BCAs, viruses, a major driver for controlling host populations and evolution, are somewhat underused, mostly because of regulatory hurdles that make the cost of registration of such host-specific BCAs not affordable in comparison with the limited potential market. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the state of the art of virus-based BCAs against fungi, bacteria, viruses, and insects, with a specific focus on new approaches that rely on not only the direct biocidal virus component but also the complex ecological interactions between viruses and their hosts that do not necessarily result in direct damage to the host. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Phytopathology, Volume 60 is August 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.