Grapevine leafroll disease is an increasing problem in all grape-growing regions of the world. The most widespread agent of the disease, Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3), has never been shown to infect species outside of the genus Vitis. Virus transmission to several plant species used as model systems was tested using the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus. We show that GLRaV-3 is able to infect Nicotiana benthamiana. Working with GLRaV-3 infected N. benthamiana revealed distinct advantages in comparison with its natural host Vitis vinifera, yielding both higher viral protein and virion concentrations in western blot and transmission electron microscopy observations, respectively. Immunogold labelling of thin sections through N. benthamiana petioles revealed filamentous particles in the phloem cells of GLRaV-3 positive plants. Comparison of assembled whole genomes from GLRaV-3 infected V. vinifera vs. N. benthamiana revealed substitutions in the 5′ UTR. These results open new avenues and opportunities for GLRaV-3 research.

在世界上所有葡萄种植地区，葡萄卷叶病都是一个日益严重的问题。该病的最广泛传播者是葡萄叶卷相关病毒3（GLRaV-3），从未显示出能感染葡萄属以外的物种。使用藤粉虫（Planococcus ficus）测试了病毒向用作模型系统的几种植物的传播。我们表明，GLRaV-3能够感染本氏烟草。与GLRaV-3感染的本氏烟草相比，与其天然寄主Vitis vinifera相比，它具有明显的优势，分别在蛋白质印迹和透射电子显微镜观察中产生较高的病毒蛋白和病毒体浓度。通过本氏烟草叶柄的薄切片的免疫金标记显示GLRaV-3阳性植物的韧皮部细胞中有丝状颗粒。比较被GLRaV-3感染的V. vinifera和N. benthamiana的组装的全基因组，发现在5'UTR中有取代。这些结果为GLRaV-3的研究开辟了新的途径和机会。