Barley yellow dwarf virus-PAV in Brazil: Seasonal fluctuation and biological characteristics

The yellow dwarf disease in winter cereal crops is caused by species of Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and Cereal yellow dwarf virus (CYDV) (Luteoviridae). These viruses are transmitted to grasses (Poaceae) by aphids (Aphididae) and the frequency of virus population is affected by oscillations in the vector and host populations. Seasonal fluctuations of BYDV-PAV, BYDV-MAV, and CYDV-RPV in aphids and grasses were analyzed in corn in the summer, and wheat and oat plots in the winter in Coxilha, RS, Brazil. Among the aphids collected, 12.7% transmitted B/CYDV, and 92.6% of those aphids were Rhopalosiphum padi while 7.4% were Sitobion avenae. The viruses that R. padi transmitted were BYDV-PAV (95.4%), CYDV-RPV (2.3%), and BYDV-MAV+PAV (2.3%), while S. avenae only transmitted BYDV-PAV. Among the wheat and oat plants collected, 65.8% were seropositive, all of which were infected with BYDV-PAV and 0.7% of which were also infected with BYDV-MAV. The population dynamics of the virus was similar in aphids and plants, with peaks in the winter crop season. The 35 isolates of BYDV-PAV analyzed were able to infect wheat and oat, being transmitted by R. padi (EF=94.4%), S. avenae (EF=76.1%), and M. dirhodum (EF=63.4%). They were not transmitted by S. graminum or S. maydis. Since several common vector species efficiently transmit BYDV-PAV, this may explain why it is the dominant virus species in the "yellow dwarf pathosystem" in Southern Brazil.