Virus-Viroid Interactions: Citrus Tristeza Virus Enhances the Accumulation of Citrus Dwarfing Viroid in Mexican Lime via Virus-Encoded Silencing Suppressors

An assay to identify interactions between Citrus dwarfing viroid (CDVd) and Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) showed that viroid titer was enhanced by the coinfecting CTV in Mexican lime but not in etrog citron. Since CTV encodes three RNA silencing suppressors (RSSs), p23, p20 and p25, an assay using transgenic Mexican limes expressing each RSS revealed that p23 and, to a lesser extent, p25 recapitulated the effect observed with coinfections of CTV and CDVd.