Differentiation of citrus bacterial canker strains in Korea by host range,rep-PCR fingerprinting and 16S rDNA analysis

Soil-borne cereal mosaic virus (SBCMV) causes a severe disease in susceptible cultivars of winter wheat. The virus is vectored by the soil-borne protist Polymyxa graminis. Experiments were conducted to investigate whether SBCMV RNA2 could persist in seed from SBCMV-infected susceptible cultivars of winter wheat. Over 7,000 seedlings were generated from seed collected from two cultivars of SBCMV-infected winter wheat. Seedlings were grown in a glasshouse compartment and batch tested for the presence of SBCMV using real-time RT-PCR. The majority of batches tested positive for SBCMV, indicating an RNA2 transmission rate of 1.8–9.4% in wheat. The presence of the virus was confirmed by amplifying and sequencing a larger (400 bp) fragment of viral RNA2 in a sub-set of the seedlings testing positive by real-time RT-PCR. Root extracts from this sub-set tested negative for P. graminis using real-time PCR. The implications for disease epidemiology of this virus are discussed. The authors are British Civil Servants and as such their work is subject to British Crown Copyright. This means the exclusive copyright for the article cannot be transferred.     

Characterization and partial sequence of a new furovirus of wheat in China

A soil-borne wheat virus causing severe mosaic and stunting symptoms on wheat in China has been characterized. It had been considered to be soil-borne wheat mosaic virus (SBWMV) because of its rod-shaped virions and similarities to epidemiology and host range. In this study, the virions purified from infected wheat tissue were approximately 20 nm in diameter and of two lengths (140–160 nm and 280–300 nm), with a coat protein of 19 kDa and two RNA components of approximately 7 and 3.5 kb. A rabbit antiserum was produced against the virus and a serological relationship to SBWMV from the USA (Oklahoma) was demonstrated. However, the coat protein was not recognized by most monoclonal antibodies against Oklahoma SBWMV in either ELISA, ISEM or Western blot analysis, indicating epitope differences. In RT-PCR experiments the viral nucleotide sequences were significantly different from those of SBWMV, and this was confirmed by partial sequencing of the cloned PCR fragments generated from RNA1 ( c . 1100 nt) and RNA2 ( c . 1400 nt), which showed homologies of about 79 and 63%, respectively, to corresponding regions of SBWMV. Because of these significant differences in serology and nucleotide sequence it is suggested that it is a new furovirus for which the name Chinese wheat mosaic virus (CWMV) is proposed.     

Response of UK winter wheat cultivars to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Soil-borne cereal mosaic</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Wheat spindle streak mosaic viruses</Emphasis> across Europe.

Twenty-one UK winter wheat cultivars were grown over three seasons at sites with natural inoculum sources of Soil-borne cereal mosaic virus (SBCMV) and Wheat spindle streak mosaic virus (WSSMV) located in France, Italy and the UK. Plants were assessed visually for virus symptoms and leaf extracts were tested for the presence of each virus using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Cultivars showing little or no foliar symptoms and low levels of virus in leaf tissue were classified as resistant to each virus. All the trials were taken to harvest and agronomic data collected. At the most heavily infected sites, severe symptoms of SBCMV were observed in all UK cultivars except Aardvark, Charger, Claire, Cockpit, Hereward and Xi 19. The latter cultivars exhibited either light or no symptoms and little or no SBCMV infection in leaves. In fields with WSSMV, the virus failed to develop in Italy, but was detected in the leaves of all the susceptible control cultivars at a site in France. However, no UK cultivar tested positive for WSSMV. Multi-site analysis indicated that the presence of WSSMV did not increase the impact of SBCMV on the height, thousand-grain weight or yield of UK cultivars. The wheat cultivars on test gave a similar response to SBCMV across three European countries. Possible sources of SBCMV resistance are discussed.