DETECTION OF HEMP VIRAL PATHOGENS AND THEIR MITIGATION THROUGH NOVEL VIROME-BASED STRATEGIES

Objective I will first elucidate the viral communities present in the Wisconsin-hemp production agroecosystem across multiple fields and growing regions. Through network analysis approaches, connections between viruses of symptomatic and asymptomatic communities will be explored. Through enrichment studies, the roles of coinfecting viruses in mediating symptom development will also be determined. Potential reservoirs of viruses of agronomic importance in feral hemp will be elucidated.Objective II will produce a novel diagnostic method for HpLVd detection, which is of broad interest to the hemp community. This method will utilize the sensitivity and specificity of an enzyme-based diagnostic method to develop a test that is implementable without specialized equipment or training. This method will additionally be applied to another viral disease of economic importance, PVY.