> but why do think that a virus that may infect one plant will
> infect another dissimilar?
It seems that Rand had the same question as me but I would like
to broaden the question a bit in the hopes that there is someone
with enough plant pathology knowledge to explain plant viruses
to me.
In animals, the majority of viruses don't cross family lines and
those that do are often very specific in the hosts that they affect.
(eg human influenza is transmissable to many primates and ferrets
but not to other mammals). Of course those that do
are often VERY important if not large in number (like rabies which
seems to be transmissable and pathologic to most mammals). Off hand
I can't think of any viruses that cross orders (eg mammals to reptiles) -
but biology being what it is I'm sure there must be one somewhere.
My question is: does this seem to hold true for plant viruses? Is a virus
that affects Tobacco and Nepenthes unlikely? What about a virus that
affects all angiosperms?
Also, and perhaps more practical, are there any general rules in virus
transmission in plants? Is lack of physical contact adequate isolation
or are plant viruses sometimes airborn?
Rich