Chinese wheat mosaic virus: A long-term threat to wheat in China

In China, a soil-borne virus causing a disease of winter wheat and associated with Polymyxa graminis, has been reported for many years and is now recognized as a new species, Chinese wheat mosaic virus (CWMV). Since the determination of its genomic sequence, more progress has been made in understanding its genomic structure and functions. Molecular and serological methods have been developed to help survey the distribution of the virus and to provide the basic information needed for disease forecasting and control. At present, the best countermeasure is cultivation of resistant wheat varieties. In addition, development and application of some auxiliary countermeasures, such as rotation of non-host crops, delayed seed-sowing, reasonable application of nitrogen fertilizer, and treatment of imported seeds with fungicides before sowing, may be helpful for controlling the disease. The viral distribution and damage, virion properties, genome organization and spontaneous mutation, temperature sensitivity, and disease management options are here reviewed and/or discussed to help in developing more cost-effective countermeasures to control the disease in the future.