Phytophagous mites transmitting plant viruses: Update and perspectives

Plant viruses can be effectively transmitted by phytophagous mites. Many species of mites, mainly criophyids and tenuipalpids, induce symptoms in infested plants that may be mistaken for viral diseases or may hide infections produced by unidentified putative viruses. The virus-mite interplay and the multitrophic interactions with their host plants are often inadequately described and require further clarifications. Advances in biotechnological methods could enable increasing identification and characterization of viruses transmitted and their potential mite vectors. This review examines the state of knowledge of mites and plant-virus interactions by summarizing the strengths and weaknesses in this research field, thus paving the way for new research directions.