Biology subjects

Tzanetakis, I.

Publications and source records attributed to Tzanetakis, I..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Munger black raspberry: Insights into its role as a virus indicator for Rubus species

Munger black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) has been a preferred indicator for Rubus viruses. The working hypothesis behind the Munger elevated susceptibility to viruses is its ability to sustain elevated virus titers; however, no research has yet explored this concept. To address this, we utilized an infectious clone of blackberry chlorotic ringspot virus to study the differences in virus expression between two Rubus species: R. occidentalis ( Munger) and R. L. subgenus Rubus Watson (blackberry, Natchez). Our data demonstrate that virus accumulation in Munger is over 47,300 times higher compared to Natchez, enhancing our understanding of virus-host dynamics and providing valuable insights into why Munger is a preferred indicator species for virus detection in Rubus spp.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Overcoming the Woody Barrier: Dodder Enables Efficient Transfer of Infectious Clones to Woody Plants

Woody hosts are notoriously resistant to genetic transformation. Traditional methods, such as Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, are often inefficient, and this limitation extends to delivering infectious clones to woody plants. Dodder species (Cuscuta spp.) are holoparasitic plants that can establish direct connections with the vascular tissue of the parasitized plants, allowing them to facilitate virus transmission between unrelated botanical species. We demonstrated that a novel dodder-based approach achieved superior transmission in Rubus spp. compared to direct agroinoculation. The transmission rates for systemic blackberry chlorotic ringspot virus transmission increased from 9% to 73%, whereas the transmission of the phloem-restricted blackberry yellow vein associated virus rose from 0% to 46%. This novel method expands the toolbox available to plant biologists to study virus-host interactions in woody plants.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Quantification of rose rosette emaravirus (RRV) titers in eriophyoid mites: insights into viral dynamics and vector competency

Understanding the interaction between rose rosette emaravirus (RRV) and its vectors is pivotal in addressing the epidemic outbreak of rose rosette disease. This study employed quantitative real-time RT-PCR to assess RRV genome copy numbers in Phyllocoptes fructiphilus and P. adalius, providing insights into the viral dynamics and vector competency. Our findings suggest active virus replication within P. fructiphilus, a confirmed vector species, unlike P. adalius, highlighting its non-vector status. Furthermore, the study highlights the variability in virus concentration in mites over time, underlining possible developmental stage-specific response and influence of mite lifestyle on RRV retention and replication. This research is the first step in understanding the virus-mite interactome, which is essential for developing effective management strategies against rose rosette disease.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2023

Development of rapid and affordable virus-mimicking artificial positive controls

A major bottleneck in the development of detection assays is the availability of positive controls. Their acquisition can be problematic; their maintenance is expensive and without them assays cannot be validated. Herein we present a novel strategy for the development of virus-mimicking positive controls (ViMAPCs). The time between design and application is less than five days, unlike alternatives which normally take several weeks to obtain and implement. The ViMAPCs provide a realistic representation of natural infection unlike alternatives and allow for an effortless recognition of lab-based contamination. The feasibility and adaptability of the strategy was evaluated using several RNA and DNA viruses. ViMAPCs can be used in diagnostics labs but also in monitoring of pathogen outbreaks where rapid response is of utmost importance.

molecular biology↗