Virus-Like Particles and a Spider Mite Intimately Associated with a New Disease of Barley
NANCY L. ROBERTSON 1 and
THOMAS W. CARROLL 1
1 Department of Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717.
The malting barley—producing regions in Montana and Canada are threatened with a new virus-like barley disease that appears to be etiologically novel. Ultrathin sections of diseased tissue contained enveloped, filamentous virus-like particles that measured 64 nanometers by 126 to 4000 nanometers. These lengths are unique for plant viruses. Unexpectedly, the spider mite,Petrobia latens, which has never been reported to be a vector of a pathogen, was found to transmit the causal agent from diseased plants to healthy barley, while noninfective mites failed to do so unless they were allowed prior access to diseased tissue.
Submitted on December 24, 1987
Accepted on April 1, 1988
