AUTHOR=Gauthier Kevin , Pankovic Dejana , Nikolic Miroslav , Hobert Mirko , Germeier Christoph U. , Ordon Frank , Perovic Dragan , Niehl Annette 

TITLE=Nutrients and soil structure influence furovirus infection of wheat

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1200674

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1200674

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Soil-borne wheat mosaic virus</italic> (SBWMV) and <italic>Soil-borne cereal mosaic virus</italic> (SBCMV), genus <italic>Furovirus</italic>, family <italic>Virgaviridae</italic>, cause significant crop losses in cereals. The viruses are transmitted by the soil-borne plasmodiophorid <italic>Polymyxa graminis</italic>. Inside <italic>P. graminis</italic> resting spores, the viruses persist in the soil for long time, which makes the disease difficult to combat. To open up novel possibilities for virus control, we explored the influence of physical and chemical soil properties on infection of wheat with SBWMV and SBCMV. Moreover, we investigated, whether infection rates are influenced by the nutritional state of the plants. Infection rates of susceptible wheat lines were correlated to soil structure parameters and nutrient contents in soil and plants. Our results show that SBWMV and SBCMV infection rates decrease the more water-impermeable the soil is and that virus transmission depends on pH. Moreover, we found that contents of several nutrients in the soil (e.g. phosphorous, magnesium, zinc) and <italic>in planta</italic> (e.g. nitrogen, carbon, boron, sulfur, calcium) affect SBWMV and SBCMV infection rates. The knowledge generated may help paving the way towards development of a microenvironment-adapted agriculture.</p>