First report of Triticum mosaic virus infecting oat crop in the United States.

Abstract

Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV, genus Poacevirus, family Potyviridae) was first reported in 2006 (Seifers et al. 2008) to infect wheat, and since then, it has been established as a constraint for US wheat production (Byamukama et al. 2013). In the field, TriMV often exists as a coinfection with wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), and these two viruses interact synergistically to produce severe symptoms and greater yield loss (Byamukama et al. 2012; Tatineni et al. 2022). Both TriMV and WSMV are transmitted by wheat curl mites (Aceria tosichella Keifer) (McMechan et al. 2014). Wheat is the primary host reported for TriMV in the field, but Seifers et al. (2010) established oat, rye, barley, and several other cereals and grasses as hosts under controlled conditions. However, there are no documented cases of TriMV infecting oats in the field. Between 10-25 June, 2023, a total of 273 field oat plants showing foliar yellowing, yellow flecking, and streaking symptoms were collected from four different fields in Nebraska (Big Springs: 41.1029° N, 102.1451° W; Mead: 41.2292° N, 96.4938° W; Odell: 40.0459° N, 96.7984° W; Stumf: 40.5048° N, 101.4223° W). Total RNA was extracted using the MagMax Plant RNA Isolation kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and the KingFisher Flex Magnetic Particle Processor (Thermo Fisher Scientific) (Mondal et al. 2023). Sample RNA was assayed with a single-step multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to determine presence of WSMV and TriMV. Out of 273 symptomatic oat plants, 254 (93.04%) tested positive for at least one virus. Out of total positive samples, 238 were positive for WSMV (93.70 %), 12 plants tested positive for both TriMV and WSMV (4.70%), and 4 plants were infected with TriMV alone (1.60%). As a secondary confirmation, amplified fragments from the TriMV single infection were gel purified using a gel extraction kit (QIAquick) and sequenced (Eurofins Genomics). The nucleotide sequences were analysed using the BlastN program, compiled, and edited in the BioEdit software (Hall 1999). Sequences were deposited in the NCBI GenBank database (accession number PP475806). Nucleotide BLAST searches of the target coat protein (CP) gene showed > 98% identity to the corresponding sequences in TriMV accession MK318274. For further validation, virus inoculum was prepared by grinding field-collected plant material from plants with only TriMV present in 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, and then mechanically inoculating two-week-old oats (cv. Shaw n=8) and wheat (cv. Sattler, n=8) plants. Three weeks post-inoculation, all the eight wheat plants exhibited mild yellowing and streaking symptoms, while oat plants did not show obvious foliar symptoms. All wheat and oat plants were further tested positive with DAC-ELISA (antibodies produced against TriMV CP at the USDA-ARS facility in Lincoln, NE) and with RT-PCR. The specific attribution of these symptoms to TriMV in oats is not possible as none produced prominent symptoms. Asymptomatic oat infection from symptomatic field-collected oat samples could be due to oat cultivar differences. Although the prevalence of TriMV in wheat has been established across the Great Plains of the United States, to our knowledge, this is the first report of TriMV infection in US oat fields. Our finding warrant further investigation into the incidence and impact of the virus in oat crop and its potential for serving as a asymptomatic virus reservoir.