A one step real-time RT-PCR assay for the quantitation of Wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV).

BACKGROUND: Wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV) is an important pathogen in China and other countries. It is the member of the genus Bymovirus and transmitted primarily by Polymyxa graminis. The incidence of wheat infections in endemic areas has risen in recent years. Prompt and dependable identification of WYMV is a critical component of response to suspect cases. METHODS: In this study, a one step real-time RT-PCR, followed by standard curve analysis for the detection and identification of WYMV, was developed. Two reference genes, 18s RNA and ß-actin were selected in order to adjust the veracity of the real-time RT-PCR assay. RESULTS: We developed a one-step Taqman-based real-time quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) assay targeting the conserved region of the 879 bp long full-length WYMV coat protein gene. The accuracy of normalized data was analyzed along with appropriate internal control genes: ß-actin and 18s rRNA which were included in detecting of WYMV-infected wheat leaf tissues. The detectable end point sensitivity in RT-qPCR assay was reaching the minimum limit of the quantitative assay and the measurable copy numbers were about 30 at 106-fold dilution of total RNA. This value was close to 104-fold more sensitive than that of indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. More positive samples were detected by RT-qPCR assay than gel-based RT-PCR when detecting the suspected samples collected from 8 regions of China. Based on presented results, RT-qPCR will provide a valuable method for the quantitative detection of WYMV. CONCLUSIONS: The Taqman-based RT-qPCR assay is a faster, simpler, more sensitive and less expensive procedure for detection and quantification of WYMV than other currently used methods.

Economic evaluation of the effects of planting date and application rate of imidacloprid for management of cereal aphids and barley yellow dwarf in winter wheat.

The effects of planting date and application rate of imidacloprid for control of Schizaphis graminum Rondani, Rhopalosiphum padi L. (Homoptera: Aphididae), and barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) in hard red winter wheat were studied. The first experiment was conducted from 1997 to 1999 at two locations and consisted of three planting dates and four rates of imidacloprid-treated seed. The second experiment was conducted from 2001 to 2002 in Stillwater, OK, and consisted of two varieties of hard red winter wheat seed and four rates of imidacloprid. Aphid densities, occurrence of BYDV, yield components, and final grain yield were measured, and yield differences were used to estimate the economic return obtained from using imidacloprid. In the first study, aphid populations responded to insecticide rate in the early and middle plantings, but the response was reduced in the late planting. Yields increased as insecticide rate increased but did not always result in a positive economic return. In the second study, imidacloprid seed treatments reduced aphid numbers and BYD occurrence, protected yield, and resulted in a positive economic return. The presence of aphids and BYDV lowered yield by reducing fertile head density, total kernel weight, and test weight. Whereas the application of imidacloprid seed treatments often provided positive yield protection, it did not did not consistently provide a positive economic return. A positive economic return was consistently obtained if the cereal aphid was carrying and transmitting BYDV and was more likely to occur if wheat was treated with a low rate if imidacloprid and planted in a "dual purpose" planting date window.

Influence of aphid species and barley yellow dwarf virus on soft red winter wheat yield.

Yield loss in soft red winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L., caused by aphid-transmitted barley yellow dwarf virus (family Luteoviridae, genus Luteovirus, BYDV) was measured over a 2-yr period in central Missouri. Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) was the most common and economically important species, accounting for > 90% of the total aphids. Schizaphis graminum (Rondani), Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), and Sitobion avenae (F.) made up the remainder of the aphids. Aphid numbers peaked at wheat stem elongation in 2003 with 771 R. padi per meter-row. In the 2003-2004 growing season, aphid numbers averaged seven aphids per meter-row in the fall and peaked at 18 aphids per meter-row at jointing. Wheat grain yield was reduced 17 and 13% in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Thousand kernel weights were reduced 10 and 5% in the untreated plots compared with the treated control in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Padi avenae virus was the predominate strain, accounting for 81 and 84% of the symptomatic plots that tested positive for BYDV in 2003 and 2004. Our results indicate that economic thresholds for R. padi are 16 aphids per meter-row in the fall and 164 aphids per meter-row at jointing.