Exploring the mycovirus SsHADV-1 as a biocontrol agent of white mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a necrotrophic fungal pathogen causing white mold on many important economic crops. Recently, some mycoviruses, such as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum hypovirulence-associated DNA virus 1 (SsHADV-1) converted S. sclerotiorum into a beneficial symbiont that helps plants manage pathogens and other stresses. To explore the potential use of SsHADV-1 as a biocontrol agent in the United States and to test the efficacy of SsHADV-1-infected U.S. isolates in managing white mold and other crop diseases, SsHADV-1 was transferred from the Chinese strain DT-8 to U.S. isolates of S. sclerotiorum. SsHADV-1 is readily transmitted horizontally among U.S. isolates of S. sclerotiorum and consistently conferred hypovirulence to its host strains. Biopriming of dry bean seeds with hypovirulent S. sclerotiorum strains enhanced resistance to white mold, gray mold and Rhizoctonia root rot. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, endophytic growth of hypovirulent S. sclerotiorum in dry beans was confirmed using PCR, and the expression of 12 plant defense-related genes were monitored before and after infection. The results indicated that spread of SsHADV-1-infected strains in plants stimulated the expression of plant immunity pathway genes that assisted a rapid response from the plant to fungal infection. Finally, application of the seed biopriming technology with SsHADV-1 infected hypervirulent strain has promise for the biological control of several diseases of wheat, pea and sunflower.