Virome of monocotyledonous weeds growing at crop fields revealed infection with several viruses and suggested their virus reservoir role

During a proof-of-concept study, virome of millet, grown as weed was determined by small RNA HTS. As a result, from the pools of 20 randomly collected millet samples collected at two locations, we identified the presence of three viruses, two of them first time in Hungary. Based on our results we could only suspect that these viruses: wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), barley stripe mosaic virus (BYSMV) and barley virus G (BVG) could have been overwintered in millet or other monocotyledonous weeds growing at these fields. As a follow-up research, in the summer of 2021, we collected symptomatic leaves of several monocotyledonous plants at the same fields. This time the sampling was done in July. From the samples, small RNA HTS was carried out. virome was determined by sRNA HTS in pools of individuals originating from the same plant species