The 10th International Conference on Agricultural and Biological Sciences
(ABS 2024)

Abstract: We cannot learn much about the origin of plant viruses from fossils. The first observed viral disease was tulip color breaking in 1576, which is associated with the name of Carolus Clusius, the so-called Rembrandt tulips. The fact that these pathogens actually exist is attributed to Adolf Eduard Mayer, who performed the first experiments related to tobacco mosaic disease. In 1883, he established that tobacco mosaic disease can be transmitted by the tissue sap of the infected plant.
The real breakthrough was the work of Dimitrij Ivanovskij in 1892 and Martinus W. Beijerinck in 1898, who established that the tobacco mosaic disease can be caused by a pathogen that is smaller than bacteria, this was the first virus to be identified, the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV, tobacco mosaic virus). In 1929, J.P. McKinney discovered cross-protection, and in 1935, Wendel Meredith Stanley proved the crystallization of the tobacco mosaic virus, i.e. its protein nature, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine. In 1937, F. C. Bawden and N. W. Pirie established the nucleoprotein nature of TMV. In 1939, G. A. Kausche, E. Pfankuch and H. Ruska made the first electron micrograph of the tobacco mosaic virus. In 1956 F.H.C. Crick and J.D. Watson created the structural model of TMV RNA. In 1982, P. Goelet, G.P. Lomonosoff, P.J.G. Akam, M.E. Gait and J. Karn revealed the primary structure (nucleotide sequence) of TMV RNA. In 1984, P. Alhquist synthesized the first infectious cDNA clone in vitro. In 1986, P. A. Powell-Abel et al. produced the first transgenic virus-resistant plant.
Ede Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb, once said in his lecture at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences that our world is so complicated that in the near future we may only be able to understand the functioning of viruses as the simplest "organisms". Indeed, if we look back at the history of virology, which is slowly approaching a century and a half, it still has things to discover for us.
With the development of infectious virus clones and molecular biology, it became possible to recognize the properties of individual genes of viruses, and it became known how they were able to adapt and conquer plants. How the gene encoding the movement protein was stolen from the plant genetic material for their spread in plants. How can they even infect plants and get them to produce viral proteins. How they can multiply and replicate. During coexistence, how proteins were formed that block the plant's defense mechanism at several points. How they adapted to spread by insect vectors.
Learning about the success, evolution and functioning of viruses made it possible to develop defense strategies against viruses we can use viruses as vectors to produce human/animal therapeutic proteins and vaccines in plant cells as well.

Biography: László Amand Palkovics studied Horticulture Engineering, Plant Protection Engineering at University of Horticulture in 1985, got PhD degree from Agricultural University of Gödöllő in 1997, habilitation at Corvinus University of Budapest 2006, DSc from Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2006 and from 2007 full professor. From 1985 to 1989 he was research associate at the Plant Breeding Department of the University of Horticulture, Budapest. From 1989 to 2003 he was research scientist at the Agricultural Biotechnology Center. From 2003 to 2021 he was head of Plant Pathology Department of Szent István University. From 2012 to 2020 held various positions at the university, thus vice-rector at Corvinus University of Budapest, and vice-rector and rector of Szent István University. From 2021 professor, and distinguished professor of Széchenyi István University, in addition to teaching, he holds many university positions.
László Amand Palkovics is author, respectively co-author, of more than 500 research papers. He is member of different scientific organizations, editor-in-chief of a Hungarian research journal, editor and reviewer of numerous international journals. He has successfully applied for many research funds. His main research interests are identification of new plant pathogenic viruses bacteria and fungi, molecular diagnostics of plant pathogens, development of diagnostic methods, development of environmentally friendly crop protection technologies.