Research articles
ScienceAsia 52 (2026):ID 2026023 1-12 |doi:
10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874..023
Prevalence and diversity of mycoviruses in Aspergillus spp.
from Southern Thailand
Jirawalun Atcharawiriyakul, Ninadia Jitprasitporn, Lakkhana Kanhayuwa Wingfield*
ABSTRACT: We analyzed a collection of 356 Aspergillus isolates obtained from different habitats and sources in
Songkhla Province, Thailand, to screen for double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) elements indicative of mycoviral infections.
The results revealed that the prevalence of mycoviral infections in the collection analyzed was low (5.1% of the isolates
contained dsRNA elements with viral characteristics), but the dsRNA electropherotypes of infected isolates indicated
that mycovirus diversity was relatively high (9 patterns were observed). Particular mycovirus species or dsRNA profiles
werenotassociated with specific habitats or sources, probably due to the ubiquity and efficient dispersal of Aspergillus as
an airborne genus. Transmission electron microscopy revealed virus-like particles measuring 22 to 53 nm in diameter in
the examined fungal isolates. Partial nucleotide sequences of Aspergillus mycovirus dsRNAs revealed a set of sequence
data, which had similarity to sequence data of several known mycoviruses. Virus-infected Aspergillus isolates were
treated with cycloheximide, generating isogenic virus-free and virus-infected lines of the fungi, whose phenotypes and
growth were directly compared. Two virus-infected strains (Aspergillus nomius ASA69 and A. dimorphicus ASA67)
displayed phenotypic alterations and attenuation of growth. The mycovirus diversity discovered in this study could
provide a source of novel biological control agents.
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Division of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110 Thailand |
* Corresponding author, E-mail: Lakkhana.k@psu.ac.th
Received 23 Jan 2025, Accepted 0 0000
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