<i>Homo sapiens</i>: The Superspreader of Plant Viral Diseases
Buddhini Ranawaka,
Satomi Hayashi,
Peter M. Waterhouse,
Felipe F. de Felippes
Affiliations
Buddhini Ranawaka
Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Satomi Hayashi
Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Peter M. Waterhouse
Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Felipe F. de Felippes
Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Plant viruses are commonly vectored by flying or crawling animals, such as aphids and beetles, and cause serious losses in major agricultural and horticultural crops. Controlling virus spread is often achieved by minimizing a crop’s exposure to the vector, or by reducing vector numbers with compounds such as insecticides. A major, but less obvious, factor not controlled by these measures is Homo sapiens. Here, we discuss the inconvenient truth of how humans have become superspreaders of plant viruses on both a local and a global scale.
