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Occurrence of Resistance-Breaking Isolates of Rice yellow mottle virus in West and Central Africa

Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) is the most important rice-infecting virus in Africa. Highly resistant rice (Oryza spp.) cultivars Gigante and Tog5681 were challenged with virus isolates from five countries of the west and central African Sudano-savannah zone in order to investigate the occurrence and prevalence of resistance-breaking (RB) isolates. High resistance was overcome by 38.6% of the isolates. RB isolates could be divided into three main pathogenic groups. Isolates of the first group (17.5%) and of the second group (16.4%) were able to break down the resistance of Gigante only and of Tog5681 only, respectively. Resistance in both cultivars was overcome simultaneously by isolates of the third group (4.7%). In each group, some isolates induced symptoms, whereas plant infection by others was evidenced only by serological tests. RB isolates occurred in all five countries with varying frequencies (19 to 57%). The wide geographical distribution and high frequencies of RB isolates represent a high risk for the durability of resistance to RYMV in the Sudano-savannah zone.