''Machlomovirus'' is a genus of

plant virus Plant viruses are viruses that have the potential to affect plants. Like all other viruses, plant viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without a host. Plant viruses can be pathoge ...

es, in the family ''

Tombusviridae ''Tombusviridae'' is a family of single-stranded positive sense RNA plant viruses. The family contains 18 genera in 3 subfamilies. The name is derived from Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV). Genome All viruses in the family have a non-segmente ...

''. Plants serve as natural hosts. There are two species in this genus, including Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV), which causes significant losses in

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

production worldwide. MCMV was first identified in the U.S. state of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

causing

maize lethal necrosis disease Maize lethal necrosis disease (MLN disease, MLND, corn lethal necrosis) is a viral disease affecting maize (corn) predominantly in East Africa, Southeast Asia and South America, which was recognised in 2010. It is caused by simultaneous infection w ...

/MLN/corn lethal necrosis, a severe disease that negatively affects all stages of development for maize plants.

Taxonomy

The genus contains the following species, listed by scientific name and followed by their common names. * ''Machlomovirus liegense'', Poaceae Liege machlomovirus * ''Machlomovirus zeae'',

Maize chlorotic mottle virus ''Machlomovirus'' is a genus of plant viruses, in the family ''Tombusviridae''. Plants serve as natural hosts. There are two species in this genus, including Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV), which causes significant losses in maize productio ...

Structure

Viruses in ''Machlomovirus'' are non-enveloped, with icosahedral and spherical geometries, and T=3 symmetry. The diameter is around 28-34 nm. Genomes are linear, around 4–5.4kb in length.

Life cycle

Viral replication is cytoplasmic. Entry into the host cell is achieved by penetration into the host cell. Replication follows the positive stranded RNA virus replication model. Positive stranded RNA virus transcription, using the premature termination model of subgenomic RNA transcription is the method of transcription. Translation takes place by leaky scanning, and suppression of termination. The virus exits the host cell by tubule-guided viral movement. Plants serve as the natural host. Transmission routes are mechanical, seed borne, and contact. Even a small incidence of seed transmission is problematic: Although Kimani et al. 2021 finds MCMV to be almost incapable of successfully making the jump from contaminated seed to infecting a

seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...

, even a small infected proportion of a field will infect the entire field (via vector) unless quickly removed. This virus can be transmitted by six species of leaf beetle: cereal leaf beetle (''Oulema melanopus''), the red-headed flea beetle ('' Systena frontalis''), corn flea beetle ('' Chaetocnema pulicaria''), southern corn rootworm ('' Diabrotica undecimpunctata''), northern corn rootworm ('' D. longicornis'') and western corn rootworm ('' D. virgifera virgifera''). It can also be transmitted by the corn thrips, ''

Frankliniella williamsi ''Frankliniella williamsi'', the corn thrips, is a species of thrips in the family Thripidae. Description Thrips of this species are yellow except for the distal antennal segments, which are brown. The head is wider than long. The antennae ar ...

''.

References

External links

Viralzone: Machlomovirus

ICTV
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q6723796 Tombusviridae Viral plant pathogens and diseases Virus genera