Cold Atmospheric Plasma as a Novel Method for Inactivation of Potato Virus Y in Water Samples

While one of the biggest problems we are facing today is water scarcity, enormous quantities of water are still being used in irrigation. If contaminated, this water can act as an effective pathway for the spread of disease-causing agents, like viruses. Here, we present a novel, environmentally friendly method known as cold atmospheric plasma for inactivation of viruses in water used in closed irrigation systems. We measured the plasma-mediated viral RNA degradation as well as the plasma-induced loss of viral infectivity using potato virus Y as a model virus due to its confirmed water transmissibility and economic as well as biological importance. We showed that only 1 min of plasma treatment is sufficient for successful inactivation of viruses in water samples with either high or low organic background. The plasma-mediated inactivation was efficient even at markedly higher virus concentrations than those expected in irrigation waters. Obtained results point to reactive oxygen species as the main mode of viral inactivation. Our laboratory-scale experiments confirm for the first time that plasma has an excellent potential as the eukaryotic virus inactivation tool for water sources and could thus provide a cost-effective solution for irrigation mediated plant virus transmission. The outstanding inactivation efficiency demonstrated by plasma treatments in water samples offers further expansions of its application to other water sources such as reused wastewater or contaminated drinking waters, as well as other plant, animal, and human waterborne viruses, ultimately leading to the prevention of water scarcity and numerous human, animal, and plant infections worldwide.