First report of wheat mosaic virus in France and in the EU
Wheat mosaic virus, also known as High Plains wheat mosaic virus (Emaravirus tritici, WMoV, – formerly EPPO Alert List), is first reported in France and in the EU. It is the causal agent of the High Plains disease of wheat and maize, which was first described in the USA in 1993. In the EPPO region, it was so far only detected in Ukraine (EPPO RS 2020/128), and it was reported in 2023 in Iran and Iraq.
WMoV was detected in France in the framework of a study of the virome of cereal grains by HTS in 2022–2023. WMoV was detected in volunteer plants that had developed during the summer from seeds that had fallen at harvest from the previous crop. It was detected in oat (Avena sativa) in Charente Maritime department in 2022 and wheat (Triticum aestivum) collected in 2023 in the Tarn and Loir-et-Cher departments.
The genetic characterization of two isolates suggests that WMoV may have been present for a significant period in France. Alternatively, it could also be a recent introduction from an area where the variants have not yet been characterized.
The impact of the presence of WMoV in France is also unclear. High Plains disease symptoms have not been reported in the country. However, it is noted that symptoms may have been wrongly attributed to wheat streak mosaic virus (Tritimovirus tritici, WSMV).
Sources
Candresse T, Svanella-Dumas L, Huang A, Faure C, Comte R, Marais A (2026) Characterization of French isolates of wheat mosaic virus and identification of multiple variants of genomic RNAs 5 and 6. Archives of Virology 171(2), 35.