The relationship between growth rate and the expression of tolerance to barley yellow dwarf virus in barley

Barley varieties were most tolerant to infection with barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) when they grew rapidly, whether the rate of growth was determined by manipulation of the environment or by the innate genetic constitution of the host. A specific, incompletely dominant gene conditioning a high level of tolerance to the virus in certain rapidly growing genotypes in which it occurred naturally, failed to do so when transferred to slower growing genotypes. However, reintroduction into genotypes capable of rapid growth led to full restoration of the gene's effectiveness. Virus-free aphids recovered BYDV less readily from quick- than from slow-growing genotypes, all homozygous for the tolerance gene.