Subterranean clover mottle sobemovirus: its host range, resistance in subterranean clover and transmission through seed and by grazing animals

Subterranean clover mottle sobemovirus (SCMV) was transmitted by manual inoculation of sap to 27 cultivars belonging to three sub-species of subterranean clover. The virus readily infected systemically all inoculated plants of five susceptible cultivars of ssp. subterraneum. Ten others showed partial resistance as not all infected plants developed systemic infection; cold winter conditions further delayed or prevented systemic movement in four of them. Two cultivars of spp. brachycalycinum and four of spp. yanninicum failed to develop systemic infection following inoculation and were considered highly resistant. Resistance to SCMV in three of the spp. yanninicum was further confirmed by the failure to establish detectable primary infections in most of the inoculated leaves. Moreover, when the four ssp. yanninicum cultivars were graft-inoculated with SCMV, systemic infection eventually developed in them but the virus concentration was low. SCMV was also transmitted by manual inoculation of sap to a further 23 species of Trifolium, Medicago or Pisum. Three species were non-hosts, five were infected only in inoculated leaves and 18 others developed systemic infection in some or all plants. SCMV reached very high concentrations and was stable in subterranean clover sap. It was transmitted experimentally between subterranean clover plants by brushing infected leaves against healthy ones and in swards was readily transmitted by the trampling and grazing of sheep, but only poorly by mowing. Seed transmission of SCMV to seedlings of five cultivars of subterranean clover was low (0–0.12%). SCMV was not transmitted by Myzus persicae.