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Seed Transmission of Wheat streak mosaic virus Shown Unequivocally in Wheat

Under conditions that excluded any possibility of eriophyid mite vector activity, seed transmission of Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) was shown in eight different wheat genotypes at rates of 0.5 to 1.5%. Virus identification in seedlings came from characteristic symptoms in wheat, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with WSMV-specific antibodies, reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction tests with WSMV-specific primers, and cDNA sequence comparisons with published sequences. Sequence comparisons of four seedborne isolates showed ≥98.6% identity with the eight Australian isolates in GenBank, indicating a common seedborne origin of WSMV. These findings warrant reconsideration of currently accepted views on WSMV epidemiology and the likelihood of introducing it to new locations through planting untested wheat seed and the movement of germplasm.