Paper · 2026 · Virus Evolution

Experimental evolution of the host range dynamics in two isolates of potato virus Y

Ivair J Morais; João M F Silva; Alice K Inoue-Nagata; et al.

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claims
24
verbatim quotes
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citations
2
research areas
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Open access · cc-by

Abstract

Abstract The emergence of plant viruses is a complex process influenced by viral genetic variation, host species, and environmental factors. To better predict and manage new plant diseases, it is important to understand how viruses adapt to novel hosts. In this study, we examined how two isolates of potato virus Y (PVY), PVYNb, and PVYSt, evolve when repeatedly passed through three solanaceous plants: Bentham’s tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana), potato (Solanum tuberosum), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). We also tested whether switching between hosts could reduce the impact of strong population bottlenecks, which often occur in poorly suited hosts. Our findings show that benthamiana supports high viral RNA accumulation and genetically stable diversity, consistent with large effective population sizes. In contrast, potato creates strong bottlenecks, often leading to viral lineage extinction and increased mutation fixation due to genetic drift. Tomato served as an intermediate host, with outcomes varying by virus strain, and acted as a sink host for some lineages, resulting in unsuccessful infection in the next passage. PVYNb showed greater standing diversity and more lineage-specific nonsynonymous change, whereas PVYSt exhibited greater genomic stability and pervasive purifying selection across most cistrons. Only a few late-passage benthamiana lineages displayed elevated πN/πS ratios, indicating that positive selection was rare and not consistently replicated. Overall, our results show that the balance between selection and drift depends strongly on host permissiveness and demographic constraints. Importantly, alternating between permissive and restrictive hosts helped prevent lineage extinction, suggesting that heterogeneous host environments, such as those encountered in agricultural systems, may facilitate virus persistence and adaptation. This study deepens our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary forces that drive the emergence of plant viruses.

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Claims 10

Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Nicotiana benthamiana supported high PVY RNA accumulation.

Taxon
Nicotiana benthamianaNicotiana benthamianae1
Interactor
potato virus YPotato virus Yt0pathogen
Outcome
viral RNA accumulatione0
Direction
highe0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Nicotiana benthamiana
Nicotiana benthamiana · TaxonCharles Andres · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗
Potato virus Y
Potato virus Y · InteractorMahmoud Hamdy Abd El-Aziz, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural. Research Center, Alexandria, Egyp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“two isolates of potato virus Y”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 53–83 · show in text ↑
e0

“benthamiana supports high viral RNA accumulation and genetically stable diversity”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 681–762 · show in text ↑
e1

“Bentham’s tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 405–446 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Nicotiana benthamiana supported genetically stable viral diversity, consistent with large effective population sizes.

Taxon
Nicotiana benthamianaNicotiana benthamianae1
Interactor
potato virus YPotato virus Yt0pathogen
Outcome
genetically stable diversitye0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Nicotiana benthamiana
Nicotiana benthamiana · TaxonCharles Andres · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗
Potato virus Y
Potato virus Y · InteractorMahmoud Hamdy Abd El-Aziz, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural. Research Center, Alexandria, Egyp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“two isolates of potato virus Y”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 53–83 · show in text ↑
e0

“benthamiana supports high viral RNA accumulation and genetically stable diversity”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 681–762 · show in text ↑
e1

“Bentham’s tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 405–446 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Potato created strong bottlenecks for PVY, often leading to viral lineage extinction and increased mutation fixation through genetic drift.

Interactor
potato virus YPotato virus Yt0pathogen
Outcome
viral lineage extinction and increased mutation fixatione0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Solanum tuberosum
Solanum tuberosum · TaxonScott Bauer, USDA ARS · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗
Potato virus Y
Potato virus Y · InteractorMahmoud Hamdy Abd El-Aziz, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural. Research Center, Alexandria, Egyp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“two isolates of potato virus Y”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 53–83 · show in text ↑
e0

“potato creates strong bottlenecks, often leading to viral lineage extinction and increased mutation fixation due to genetic drift”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 827–956 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Tomato served as an intermediate host for PVY, with outcomes varying by virus strain.

Interactor
potato virus YPotato virus Yt0pathogen
Outcome
outcomes varying by virus straine0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Solanum lycopersicum
Solanum lycopersicum · TaxonKod B · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗
Potato virus Y
Potato virus Y · InteractorMahmoud Hamdy Abd El-Aziz, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural. Research Center, Alexandria, Egyp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“two isolates of potato virus Y”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 53–83 · show in text ↑
e0

“Tomato served as an intermediate host, with outcomes varying by virus strain”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 958–1034 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Tomato acted as a sink host for some PVY lineages, resulting in unsuccessful infection in the next passage.

Interactor
potato virus YPotato virus Yt0pathogen
Outcome
unsuccessful infection in the next passagee1

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Solanum lycopersicum
Solanum lycopersicum · TaxonKod B · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗
Potato virus Y
Potato virus Y · InteractorMahmoud Hamdy Abd El-Aziz, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural. Research Center, Alexandria, Egyp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“two isolates of potato virus Y”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 53–83 · show in text ↑
e0

“Tomato served as an intermediate host”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 958–995 · show in text ↑
e1

“acted as a sink host for some lineages, resulting in unsuccessful infection in the next passage”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1040–1135 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

PVYNb showed greater standing diversity and more lineage-specific nonsynonymous change than PVYSt.

Taxon
potato virus YPotato virus Yt0
Material
PVYNbe0
Outcome
standing diversity and more lineage-specific nonsynonymous changee0
Direction
greatere0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Potato virus Y
Potato virus Y · TaxonMahmoud Hamdy Abd El-Aziz, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural. Research Center, Alexandria, Egyp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“two isolates of potato virus Y”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 53–83 · show in text ↑
e0

“PVYNb showed greater standing diversity and more lineage-specific nonsynonymous change”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1137–1223 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

PVYSt exhibited greater genomic stability and pervasive purifying selection across most cistrons.

Taxon
potato virus YPotato virus Yt0
Material
PVYSte0
Outcome
genomic stability and pervasive purifying selectione0
Direction
greatere0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Potato virus Y
Potato virus Y · TaxonMahmoud Hamdy Abd El-Aziz, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural. Research Center, Alexandria, Egyp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“two isolates of potato virus Y”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 53–83 · show in text ↑
e0

“PVYSt exhibited greater genomic stability and pervasive purifying selection across most cistrons”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1233–1329 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Only a few late-passage N. benthamiana PVY lineages showed elevated pN/pS ratios, indicating that positive selection was rare and not consistently replicated.

Taxon
Nicotiana benthamianaNicotiana benthamianae1
Interactor
potato virus YPotato virus Yt0pathogen
Outcome
πN/πS ratiose0
Direction
elevatede0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Nicotiana benthamiana
Nicotiana benthamiana · TaxonCharles Andres · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗
Potato virus Y
Potato virus Y · InteractorMahmoud Hamdy Abd El-Aziz, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural. Research Center, Alexandria, Egyp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“two isolates of potato virus Y”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 53–83 · show in text ↑
e1

“Bentham’s tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 405–446 · show in text ↑
e0

“Only a few late-passage benthamiana lineages displayed elevated πN/πS ratios, indicating that positive selection was rare and not consistently replicated”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1331–1484 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Alternating between permissive and restrictive hosts helped prevent PVY lineage extinction.

Taxon
potato virus YPotato virus Yt0
Treatment
alternating between permissive and restrictive hostse0
Outcome
lineage extinctione0
Direction
prevente0

Not reportedComparator

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Potato virus Y
Potato virus Y · TaxonMahmoud Hamdy Abd El-Aziz, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural. Research Center, Alexandria, Egyp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“two isolates of potato virus Y”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 53–83 · show in text ↑
e0

“alternating between permissive and restrictive hosts helped prevent lineage extinction”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1639–1725 · show in text ↑
Mechanismauthor interpretationoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

The balance between selection and drift in PVY depends strongly on host permissiveness and demographic constraints.

Taxon
potato virus YPotato virus Yt0
Outcome
balance between selection and drifte0
Qualifier
host permissiveness and demographic constraintse0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Potato virus Y
Potato virus Y · TaxonMahmoud Hamdy Abd El-Aziz, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural. Research Center, Alexandria, Egyp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“two isolates of potato virus Y”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 53–83 · show in text ↑
e0

“the balance between selection and drift depends strongly on host permissiveness and demographic constraints”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1517–1624 · show in text ↑