Virome of major seed spice crops: current status, disease surveillance, and biosecurity
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Authors
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Kartar Singh
ICAR-National Research Centre on Seed Spices, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
Author
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Jangir, C.K., Meena, R.D., Sharma, Y.K., Kumar, S., Mahatma, M.K., Sharma, M., Choudhary, M., &Bhardwaj, V., Mahatma
Author
Keywords:
Virome, seed spices, biosecurityAbstract
High-throughput sequencing (HTS) has changed how plant viruses are detected and characterised, allowing researchers to move from single pathogens to whole viral communities, or viromes, associated with a crop. The major seed spice crops cumin (Cuminum cyminum), coriander (Coriandrum sativum), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) are grown on more than four million hectares worldwide and account for over USD 3 billion in annual trade, yet their viral diseases and viromes are still poorly documented. This review synthesises published research from 1972 to 2025, with an emphasis on recent HTS-enabled discoveries, and gives a consolidated overview of the viruses so far reported in these crops. More than 22 virus species from eight viral families have been recorded to date. Recent additions include Beet curly top virus in coriander in the USA, three novel viruses in Indian coriander (among them the first enamovirus reported from the Apiaceae), the carrot motley dwarf complex in cilantro and fennel, Coriander cytorhabdovirus 1 in Chile, Vanilla distortion mosaic virus as the first virus reported in cumin, and four begomovirus complexes in fenugreek across South Asia. We also treat Pea seed-borne mosaic virus in Australian fenugreek as a specific biosecurity concern, because its seed transmission rate in this host is unknown while its seed transmission in pea approaches 100 percent. The contributions of dsRNA enrichment, small RNA sequencing and AI-assisted analytical tools to virus discovery are discussed. The main gaps are the absence of HTS-based virome surveys in several major producing countries, limited knowledge of vectors and epidemiology, and scarce data on seed transmission. We argue that seed spice virology should be reframed as a seed-trade biosecurity problem, and that virome data belong in phytosanitary risk assessment and seed health certification rather than in surveillance alone. Priorities include virome-guided resistance breeding, stronger surveillance, and the integration of HTS into seed certification systems.
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