plants Review An Annotated List of Legume-Infecting Viruses in the Light of Metagenomics Elisavet K. Chatzivassiliou Plant Pathology Laboratory, Department of Crop Science, School of Plant Sciences, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece;
[email protected] Abstract: Legumes, one of the most important sources of human food and animal feed, are known to be susceptible to a plethora of plant viruses. Many of these viruses cause diseases which severely impact legume production worldwide. The causal agents of some important virus-like diseases remain unknown. In recent years, high-throughput sequencing technologies have enabled us to identify many new viruses in various crops, including legumes. This review aims to present an updated list of legume-infecting viruses. Until 2020, a total of 168 plant viruses belonging to 39 genera and 16 families, officially recognized by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), were reported to naturally infect common bean, cowpea, chickpea, faba-bean, groundnut, lentil, peas, alfalfa, clovers, and/or annual medics. Several novel legume viruses are still pending approval by ICTV. The epidemiology of many of the legume viruses are of specific interest due to their seed- transmission and their dynamic spread by insect-vectors. In this review, major aspects of legume virus epidemiology and integrated control approaches are also summarized. Keywords: cool season legumes; forage legumes; grain legumes; insect-transmitted viruses; pulses; integrated control; seed-transmitted viruses; virus epidemiology; warm season legumes Citation: Chatzivassiliou, E.K. An Annotated List of Legume-Infecting 1. Introduction Viruses in the Light of Metagenomics. Legume is a term used for the plant or the fruit/seed of plants belonging to the Plants 2021, 10, 1413.