Virus, Viroid, Phytoplasma – Pathogens and Diseases

Abstract

For many years the classification of plant viruses was in a state of chaos. Fortunately recent biochemical and molecular investigations on organization and structure of genome as well as on structural and nonstructural viral proteins provided enough data to create a definition of species. A virus species is a polythetical class of viruses consisting of replicating lineage and occupying a particular ecological niche. This indicated that viruses and biological entities that possess genes, replicate, interact with hosts and are exposed to selection pressure, thus specialize and evolve. Guidelines provided in the Sixth and Seventh Reports of the International Committee or the Taxonomy of Viruses are partly followed, especially by use of a virus species name or vernacular name for the not fully described viruses. Following are virus species (including viroids and phytoplasmas) and virus diseases in alphabetical order by common names.