Barley stripe mosaic virus

Barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV), of genus Hordevirus, is an RNA viral plant pathogen whose main hosts are barley and wheat. The common symptoms for BSMV are yellow streaks or spots, mosaic, leaves and stunted growth. It is spread primarily through infected seed and can be spread through mechanical transfer of an infected and uninfected host. Plants infected with BSMV are more symptomatic in warmer temperatures. Resistant hosts and sterilization of equipment are the best ways to control the spread of the pathogen. BSMV has been known to reduce the yields of barley by up to 25%, but is not a major problem because of resistant varieties of barley. Barley stripe mosaic virus has a narrow host range. Horedum vulgare, commonly known as barley, is the main host for the virus. BSMV can also infect wheat, Triticum aestivum. Very rarely, BSMV can be seen in wild oats along with rye, maize, rice, sorghum, and millet. In experimental conditions, spinach, beetroot, and tobacco were able to be infected. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a useful tool that can differentiate between similar strains of barley stripe mosaic virus and provide quantitative results. ELISA works by using antibodies that are specific for a particular virus and the antibody-antigen interaction is mediated by a solid surface, which is usually a polystyrene multiwell plate. Common symptoms of BSMV are yellow to white mottling, spotting and streaking, necrosis and severe mosaic on leaves. Stunting is also very common. Symptoms can vary based on virus strain, host plant and environmental conditions. Symptoms are more prevalent in warm temperatures. Plants grown from infected seeds are severely stunted or could even die before emergence in very susceptible hosts varieties. Experimentally infected plants took 4–5 days for chlorotic symptoms to appear. Symptoms for BSMV are similar to barley stripe disease, a fungal disease caused by Pyrenophora graminea, though the two are caused by completely different pathogens and should be treated differently. Barley stripe mosaic virus is not known to be transmitted through vectors. Rather, BSMV is confined to only plant tissues, of which it targets chloroplasts and nuclei within the mesophyll and epidermal cells. The virus can be indirectly spread to other plants because the virus can also aggregate in the seeds. Likewise, BSMV can be transmitted via mechanical inoculation to the plant. The main way the virus perpetuates itself is growth from an infected seed. The infection can persists for years inside the seed.