YES! It also infects animal, fungi, protista and bacteria! Basically, the 5 kingdoms : plantae, fungi, animalia, protista and monera.
PLANT VIRUSES
Plants play an important factor in our life. For example, for food. The human nutrition depends on cereals, RICE, wheat and maize. Other food such as vegetable, fruits and herbs. Animals also have to feed on plants. For example, grass.
Plants are also used for non food products such as wood to build furniture, buildings and paper.
Cotton is often extracted from plants to create cloth for daily wear.
Another important factor is medicine is required to be extracted from plants. For example, aspirin and taxol. Aspirin is used to relieve pain and aches and to reduce fever and taxol used to treat people with cancer.
Plants are also a primary source of basic chemicals for the industrial synthesis of a vast array of organic chemicals. These chemicals are used to for studies and experiments.
However, there is a negative effect for the uses of plants. Take for example, plants which produce windblown pollen which cause allergic reactions to people who suffer hay fever. There is also the poison ivy which is poisonous and causes skin irritations. Some plants also contain psychotropic chemicals ( a chemical substance which will act on the central nervous system where it will alter the brain function, resulting to temporary changes in behaviour, mood or perception ) which can be smoked, including tobacco or cocaine. Too much consumed can caused damages to the body.
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TRANSMISSION
Plant viruses can be transmitted by a vector, most often by insects. The chosen insect vector of a plant virus will often be the determining factor in that virus’s host range: it can only infect plants that the insect vector feeds upon.
Nematodes are able to transmit viruses too. They acquire and transmit viruses by feeding on infected roots.
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Viruses can also be transmitted through seeds, the seed will be infected in the generative cells and the virus will be maintained in the germ cells and sometimes in the seed coat. There is still little known about the mechanism involving in the transmission of plant viruses via seeds. The seed transmission occurs because of a direct invasion of the embryo via the ovule or by an indirect route with an attack on the embryo mediated by infected gametes.
BACTERIAL VIRUSES
bacterial viruses are bacterial infected with viruses also known as bacteriophage. It consists of an outer protein hull enclosing the genetic material. This genetic material can be dsRNA, ssRNA, ssDNA or dsDNA . The nucleic acid usually contains modified or unusual bases. These modified bases will protect the bacteriophage nucleic acid from nucleases that will break down the host nucleic acids during phage infection.
The T4 is one of the largest phages and is about the size of 200nm long and 80-100nm wide. Most phages are 20 to 200nm in length. The capsid is composed of proteins and genetic material can found in the capsid. It also acts as a protective covering for the nucleic material. A phage also consist of a tail.
Bacteriophages may have lytic cycle ( considered the main method for viral replication, as it results to the destruction of a infected cell ) or lysogenic cycle.
Better understanding....
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=mcb.figgrp.1421
MYCOVIRUSES
mycoviruses are viruses that infect fungi. Right now, only a few fungal viruses are studied and it must be done through electron microscopy. An electron microscopy is used because it has greater resolving power and can obtain higher magnification.
The most identified have dsRNA and spherical in shape. One example of mycovirus being the causal agent of La France Disease which affects the mushroom. Some observations of the infected mushroom are reduced yield, rapid deterioration in tissue and change in morphology.