Imaging Techniques to Study Plant Virus Replication and Vertical Transmission

Abstract

Plant viruses are obligate parasites that need to usurp plant cell metabolism in order to infect their hosts. Imaging techniques have been used for quite a long time to study plant virus–host interactions, making it possible to have major advances in the knowledge of plant virus infection cycles. The imaging techniques used to study plant–virus interactions have included light microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and scanning and transmission electron microscopies. Here, we review the use of these techniques in plant virology, illustrating recent advances in the area with examples from plant virus replication and virus plant-to-plant vertical transmission processes.

Keywords

• plant virus–host interactions
• viral life cycle
• viral replication
• viral transmission
• imaging
• light microscopy