Evaluation of Seed Transmission Rates of Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus in Mechanically Inoculated Winter and Spring Wheat Cultivars in Montana

Wheat streak mosaic disease is caused by wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and two other viruses and persistently limits wheat yields in the Great Plains region of the United States. Seed transmission of viruses is an important consideration in international movement and is important epidemiologically. Seed transmission of WSMV in wheat was first reported from Australia in 2005, but there is little data from United States cultivars on the rate of seed transmission. In 2018, mechanically inoculated winter and spring wheat cultivars were evaluated in Montana. We found differences in WSMV seed transmission rates between winter and spring wheat, with average transmission rates in spring wheat (3.1%) being five times higher compared to winter wheat (0.6%). Seed transmission rates in spring wheat were twice as high as the highest previously reported transmission rate for individual genotypes, 1.5%. The results from this study provide a strong argument for increasing the current testing of seed for breeding purposes prior to international movement when WSMV has been observed and caution against using grain from WSMV-infected fields as seed source because it can heighten the risk of wheat streak mosaic outbreaks.

Genomic High Plains Wheat Mosaic Virus Sequences from Australia: Their Phylogenetics and Evidence for Emaravirus Recombination and Reassortment

High Plains wheat mosaic virus (HPWMoV) causes a serious disease in major wheat-growing regions worldwide. We report here the complete or partial genomic sequences of five HPWMoV isolates from Australian wheat samples. Phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequences of the eight genomic segments of these five isolates together with others from Genbank found all eight genes formed two lineages, L1 and L2. L1 contained a single isolate from Colorado in the North American Great Plains Region (GPR), and L2 had two unresolved clusters, A and B, of isolates from Australia and the GPR. A quarter of the L2B isolate sequences of the nucleocapsid gene (RNA3) were recombinant, which is unexpected as little evidence of recombination exists in viruses with negative single-stranded RNA genomes. Phylogenies calculated from the amino acid sequences of HPWMoV's RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RNA1), glycoprotein (RNA2), and nucleocapsid protein (RNA3) showed they were closest to those of Palo Verde broom virus. However, its movement protein (RNA4) was closer to those of Ti ringspot-associated and common oak ringspot-associated viruses, indicating the RNA4 segments of their ancestors reassorted to produce the current emaraviruses. To avoid increased yield losses from co-infection, biosecurity measures are advised to avoid HPWMoV introduction to countries where wheat streak mosaic virus already occurs.

Virus Diseases of Cereal and Oilseed Crops in Australia: Current Position and Future Challenges

This review summarizes research on virus diseases of cereals and oilseeds in Australia since the 1950s. All viruses known to infect the diverse range of cereal and oilseed crops grown in the continent's temperate, Mediterranean, subtropical and tropical cropping regions are included. Viruses that occur commonly and have potential to cause the greatest seed yield and quality losses are described in detail, focusing on their biology, epidemiology and management. These are: barley yellow dwarf virus, cereal yellow dwarf virus and wheat streak mosaic virus in wheat, barley, oats, triticale and rye; Johnsongrass mosaic virus in sorghum, maize, sweet corn and pearl millet; turnip yellows virus and turnip mosaic virus in canola and Indian mustard; tobacco streak virus in sunflower; and cotton bunchy top virus in cotton. The currently less important viruses covered number nine infecting nine cereal crops and 14 infecting eight oilseed crops (none recorded for rice or linseed). Brief background information on the scope of the Australian cereal and oilseed industries, virus epidemiology and management and yield loss quantification is provided. Major future threats to managing virus diseases effectively include damaging viruses and virus vector species spreading from elsewhere, the increasing spectrum of insecticide resistance in insect and mite vectors, resistance-breaking virus strains, changes in epidemiology, virus and vectors impacts arising from climate instability and extreme weather events, and insufficient industry awareness of virus diseases. The pressing need for more resources to focus on addressing these threats is emphasized and recommendations over future research priorities provided.

Wheat streak mosaic virus: a century old virus with rising importance worldwide

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) causes wheat streak mosaic, a disease of cereals and grasses that threatens wheat production worldwide. It is a monopartite, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus and the type member of the genus Tritimovirus in the family Potyviridae. The only known vector is the wheat curl mite (WCM, Aceria tosichella), recently identified as a species complex of biotypes differing in virus transmission. Low rates of seed transmission have been reported. Infected plants are stunted and have a yellow mosaic of parallel discontinuous streaks on the leaves. In the autumn, WCMs move from WSMV-infected volunteer wheat and other grass hosts to newly emerged wheat and transmit the virus which survives the winter within the plant, and the mites survive as eggs, larvae, nymphs or adults in the crown and leaf sheaths. In the spring/summer, the mites move from the maturing wheat crop to volunteer wheat and other grass hosts and transmit WSMV, and onto newly emerged wheat in the fall to which they transmit the virus, completing the disease cycle. WSMV detection is by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR). Three types of WSMV are recognized: A (Mexico), B (Europe, Russia, Asia) and D (USA, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Turkey, Canada). Resistance genes Wsm1, Wsm2 and Wsm3 have been identified. The most effective, Wsm2, has been introduced into several wheat cultivars. Mitigation of losses caused by WSMV will require enhanced knowledge of the biology of WCM biotypes and WSMV, new or improved virus detection techniques, the development of resistance through traditional and molecular breeding, and the adaptation of cultural management tactics to account for climate change.

Occurrence of Winter Cereal Viruses in New South Wales, Australia, 2006 to 2014

Winter cereal viruses can cause significant crop losses; however, detailed knowledge of their occurrence in New South Wales, Australia is very limited. This paper reports on the occurrence of Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), Wheat mosaic virus (WMoV), Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV), Cereal yellow dwarf virus (CYDV), and their serotypes between 2006 and 2014. Detection of WMoV is confirmed in eastern Australia for the first time. The BYDV and CYDV 2014 epidemic is examined in detail using 139 samples of wheat, barley, and oat surveyed from southern New South Wales. The presence of virus was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The results reveal a high frequency of the serotype Barley yellow dwarf virus - MAV as a single infection present in 27% of samples relative to Barley yellow dwarf virus - PAV in 19% and CYDV in 14%. Clear differences emerged in the infection of different winter cereal species by serotypes of BYDV and CYDV. These results are contrasted to other Australian and international studies.

Effects of introduced and indigenous viruses on native plants: exploring their disease causing potential at the agro-ecological interface

The ever increasing movement of viruses around the world poses a major threat to plants growing in cultivated and natural ecosystems. Both generalist and specialist viruses move via trade in plants and plant products. Their potential to damage cultivated plants is well understood, but little attention has been given to the threat such viruses pose to plant biodiversity. To address this, we studied their impact, and that of indigenous viruses, on native plants from a global biodiversity hot spot in an isolated region where agriculture is very recent (<185 years), making it possible to distinguish between introduced and indigenous viruses readily. To establish their potential to cause severe or mild systemic symptoms in different native plant species, we used introduced generalist and specialist viruses, and indigenous viruses, to inoculate plants of 15 native species belonging to eight families. We also measured resulting losses in biomass and reproductive ability for some host-virus combinations. In addition, we sampled native plants growing over a wide area to increase knowledge of natural infection with introduced viruses. The results suggest that generalist introduced viruses and indigenous viruses from other hosts pose a greater potential threat than introduced specialist viruses to populations of native plants encountered for the first time. Some introduced generalist viruses infected plants in more families than others and so pose a greater potential threat to biodiversity. The indigenous viruses tested were often surprisingly virulent when they infected native plant species they were not adapted to. These results are relevant to managing virus disease in new encounter scenarios at the agro-ecological interface between managed and natural vegetation, and within other disturbed natural vegetation situations. They are also relevant for establishing conservation policies for endangered plant species and avoiding spread of damaging viruses to undisturbed natural vegetation beyond the agro-ecological interface.

Wheat curl mite, Aceria tosichella, and transmitted viruses: an expanding pest complex affecting cereal crops

The wheat curl mite (WCM), Aceria tosichella, and the plant viruses it transmits represent an invasive mite-virus complex that has affected cereal crops worldwide. The main damage caused by WCM comes from its ability to transmit and spread multiple damaging viruses to cereal crops, with Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and Wheat mosaic virus (WMoV) being the most important. Although WCM and transmitted viruses have been of concern to cereal growers and researchers for at least six decades, they continue to represent a challenge. In older affected areas, for example in North America, this mite-virus complex still has significant economic impact. In Australia and South America, where this problem has only emerged in the last decade, it represents a new threat to winter cereal production. The difficulties encountered in making progress towards managing WCM and its transmitted viruses stem from the complexity of the pathosystem. The most effective methods for minimizing losses from WCM transmitted viruses in cereal crops have previously focused on cultural and plant resistance methods. This paper brings together information on biological and ecological aspects of WCM, including its taxonomic status, occurrence, host plant range, damage symptoms and economic impact. Information about the main viruses transmitted by WCM is also included and the epidemiological relationships involved in this vectored complex of viruses are also addressed. Management strategies that have been directed at this mite-virus complex are presented, including plant resistance, its history, difficulties and advances. Current research perspectives to address this invasive mite-virus complex and minimize cereal crop losses worldwide are also discussed.

Genetic variation of wheat streak mosaic virus in the United States Pacific Northwest

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), the cause of wheat streak mosaic, is a widespread and damaging pathogen of wheat. WSMV is not a chronic problem of annual wheat in the United States Pacific Northwest but could negatively affect the establishment of perennial wheat, which is being developed as an alternative to annual wheat to prevent soil erosion. Fifty local isolates of WSMV were collected from 2008 to 2010 near Lewiston, ID, Pullman, WA, and the United States Department of Agriculture Central Ferry Research Station, near Pomeroy, WA to determine the amount of genetic variation present in the region. The coat protein gene from each isolate was sequenced and the data subjected to four different methods of phylogenetic analyses. Two well-supported clades of WSMV were identified. Isolates in clade I share sequence similarity with isolates from Central Europe; this is the first report of isolates from Central Europe being reported in the United States. Isolates in clade II are similar to isolates originating from Australia, Argentina, and the American Pacific Northwest. Nine isolates showed evidence of recombination and the same two well-supported clades were observed when recombinant isolates were omitted from the analysis. More polymorphic sites, parsimony informative sites, and increased diversity were observed in clade II than clade I, suggesting more recent establishment of the virus in the latter. The observed diversity within both clades could make breeding for durable disease resistance in perennial wheat difficult if there is a differential response of WSMV resistance genes to isolates from different clades.

Plant virus emergence and evolution: origins, new encounter scenarios, factors driving emergence, effects of changing world conditions, and prospects for control

This review focuses on virus-plant pathosystems at the interface between managed and natural vegetation, and describes how rapid expansion in human activity and climate change are likely to impact on plants, vectors and viruses causing increasing instability. It starts by considering virus invasion of cultivated plants from their wild ancestors in the centres of plant domestication in different parts of the world and subsequent long distance movement away from these centres to other continents. It then describes the diverse virus-plant pathosystem scenarios possible at the interface between managed and natural vegetation and gives examples that illustrate situations where indigenous viruses emerge to damage introduced cultivated plants and newly introduced viruses become potential threats to biodiversity. These examples demonstrate how human activities increasingly facilitate damaging new encounters between plants and viruses worldwide. The likely effects of climate change on virus emergence are emphasised, and the major factors driving virus emergence, evolution and greater epidemic severity at the interface are analysed and explained. Finally, the kinds of challenges posed by rapidly changing world conditions to achieving effective control of epidemics of emerging plant viruses, and the approaches needed to address them, are described.

The role of plant biosecurity in preventing and controlling emerging plant virus disease epidemics

A number of research strategies have been initiated over the last decade to enhance plant biosecurity capacity at the pre-border, border and post-border frontiers. In preparation for emerging plant virus epidemics, diagnostic manuals for economically important plant viruses that threaten local industries have been developed and validated under local conditions. Contingency plans have also been prepared that provide guidelines to stakeholders on diagnostics, surveillance, survey strategies, epidemiology and pest risk analysis. Reference collections containing validated positive virus controls have been expanded to support a wide range of biosecurity sciences. Research has been conducted to introduce high throughput diagnostic capabilities and the design and development of advanced molecular techniques to detect virus genera. These diagnostic tools can be used by post entry quarantine agencies to detect known and unknown plant viral agents. Pre-emptive breeding strategies have also been initiated to protect plant industries if and when key exotic viruses become established in localized areas. With the emergence of free trade agreements between trading partners there is a requirement for quality assurance measures for pathogens, including viruses, which may occur in both the exporting and importing countries. These measures are required to ensure market access for the exporting country and also to minimize the risk of the establishment of a damaging virus epidemic in the importing country.

Finding Wheat streak mosaic virus in south-west Australia

Between 2003 and summer 2006, 33 659 samples of wheat and grasses were collected from diverse locations in south-west Australia and tested for presence of Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), but none was detected. In April–early May 2006, 2840 random samples of volunteer wheat from 28 fields on 24 farms in 6 districts in the grainbelt were tested. WSMV was detected for the first time, the infected samples coming from three fields, one in the Hyden and two in the Esperance districts. In ‘follow-up’ surveys in May 2006 in the same two districts, 8983 samples of volunteer wheat or grasses were tested, and the virus was detected on further farms, two in the Hyden and four in the Esperance districts. Incidences of infection in volunteer wheat were 1–8%, but WSMV was not found in grasses. By September 2006, when 1769 samples from further visits were tested, WSMV was detected in wheat crops or volunteer wheat plants at 2/3 of the original farms, with infection also found at one of them in barley, volunteer oats, and barley grass (Hordeum sp.). When samples of the seed stocks originally used in 2005 to plant five of the fields containing infected volunteer wheat at the three original infected farms were tested, seed transmission of WSMV was detected in four of them (0.1–0.2% transmission rates). In August–October 2006, 16 436 samples were collected in a growing-season survey for WSMV in wheat trials and crops throughout the grainbelt. WSMV was detected in 33% of ‘variety’ trials, 18% of other trials, 13% of seed ‘increase’ crops, and 52% of commercial crops. Incidences of infection were <1–100% within individual crops, <1–17% in trials, and <1–3% in seed increase crops. WSMV-infected sites were concentrated in the low-rainfall zone (east) of the central grainbelt. This area received considerable summer rains in 2006, which allowed growth of a substantial ‘green ramp’ of volunteer cereals and grasses, favouring infection of subsequent wheat plantings. WSMV was also detected at low levels over a much wider area involving all rainfall zones, from Dongara in the north to Esperance in the south. All 26 122 samples collected in January–May 2006 and 515 with possible WSMV symptoms collected in August–October 2006 were also tested for High plains virus (HPV), but it was not detected.

The epidemiology of Wheat streak mosaic virus in Australia: case histories, gradients, mite vectors, and alternative hosts

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) infection and infestation with its wheat curl mite (WCM; Aceria tosichella) vector were investigated in wheat crops at two sites in the low-rainfall zone of the central grainbelt of south-west Australia. In the 2006 outbreak, after a preceding wet summer and autumn, high WCM populations and total infection with WSMV throughout a wheat crop were associated with presence of abundant grasses and self-sown ‘volunteer’ wheat plants before sowing the field that became affected. Wind strength and direction had a major effect on WSMV spread by WCM to neighbouring wheat crops, the virus being carried much further downwind than upwind by westerly frontal winds. Following a dry summer and autumn in 2007, together with control of grasses and volunteer cereals before sowing and use of a different seed stock, no WSMV or WCM were found in the following wheat crop within the previously affected area or elsewhere on the same farm. In the 2007 outbreak, where the preceding summer and autumn were wet, a 40% WSMV incidence and WCM numbers that reached 4800 mites/ear at the margin of the wheat crop were associated with abundant grasses and volunteer wheat plants in adjacent pasture. WSMV incidence and WCM populations declined rapidly with increasing distance from the affected pasture. Also, wheat plants that germinated early had higher WSMV infection incidences than those that germinated later. The alternative WSMV hosts identified at these sites were volunteer wheat, annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum), barley grass (Hordeum sp.), and wild oats (Avena fatua). In surveys outside the growing season at or near these two sites or elsewhere in the grainbelt, small burr grass (Tragus australianus), stink grass (Eragrostis cilianensis), and witch grass (Panicum capillare) were identified as additional alternative hosts.