Viral strain-dependent impact of plant developmental stages on the nestedness and modularity of plant-virus interaction matrices

This study examines the specificity of adaptation of lineages of turnip mosaic virus that were experimentally evolved from naïve and preadapted strains to Arabidopsis thaliana plants at various plant developmental stages. We conducted a cross-infection experiment involving three plant developmental stages and assessed the progression of disease and symptoms. We found a significative interaction between the host developmental stage where the virus evolved and the host developmental stage in which the virus was tested. The analysis of the resulting interaction matrices revealed significant nestedness for viruses evolved from the naïve strain, but not for those originating from the preadapted one. Furthermore, there was an absence of modularity across all matrices. Our findings suggest that the past adaptation history of the ancestral strain influences its future evolution, and each plant developmental stage imposes unique selective constraints. The study highlights the complexity of host-parasite interactions and the potential influence of the host's developmental stage on viral adaptation.