Seifers, D. L., Perumal, R., and Little, C. R. 2012. New sources of resistance in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) germplasm are effective against a diverse array of Potyvirus spp. Plant Dis. 96:1775Dis. 96: -1779 Sorghum is a host to numerous Potyvirus spp. and its germplasm encompasses a wide range of infection responses to these viruses. We determined how 183 mini-core-collection sorghum germplasm accessions responded to mechanical inoculation with Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV) in growth regimes in which they were maintained at 30°C followed by 16°C for 5 days. Accessions that appeared immune to MDMV in this initial screening were evaluated for their response in a similar temperature maintenance regime to mechanical inoculation with MDMV, Sugarcane mosaic virus strain MDB (SCMV-MDB), Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV), Zea mosaic virus (ZeMV), and Kansas, Nigerian, and Australian isolates of Johnsongrass mosaic virus (JGMV-KS, -N, and -Aus, respectively). In both experiments, MDMV systemically infected all accessions except international sorghum accession number (IS) 7679 and IS 20740. These accessions also proved resistant to MDMV, SCMV-MDB, SrMV, and JGMV-N but both were susceptible to the JGMV-KS and JGMV-Aus isolates. IS 7679 but not IS 20740 was resistant to infection with ZeMV. These observations suggest that IS 7679 and IS 20740 might serve as new sources of resistance to several Potyvirus spp. that systemically infect sorghum. (ZeMV). Of these, MDMV and SCMV-MDB are most often associated with the disease called maize dwarf mosaic of corn and sorghum (21,22). JGMV has also been documented to naturally infect sorghum in the United States (14,17). A few instances of natural infection of sorghum with SrMV in Texas have been reported (9), and ZeMV occurs in Israel, where it infects maize and sorghum (18).
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is a host to several virus species of the family Potyviridae, including Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV) (formerly MDMV-A), Sugarcane mosaic virus strain MDB (SCMV-MDV; formerly MDMV-B), Johnsongrass mosaic virus (JGMV), Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV), and Zea mosaic virusMaize dwarf mosaic of sorghum has been recognized as an important disease of sorghum in the United States (22). Two principal vectors of MDMV and SCMV-MDB are the corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), and the greenbug, Schizaphis graminum Rond. (4,7). At warm temperatures, sorghum plants respond initially to infection with mosaic symptoms but produce a red-leaf symptom when they are exposed to cooler temperatures of about 16°C (12,21). This symptom is a consequence of the necrosis induced by infection. The term "red-leaf" is also applied to sorghum genotypes that produce tan pigments during necrosis (10). In earlier literature, the mosaic reaction was described as a "resistant" response (8), although it demonstrated susceptibility to systemic virus infection. Other authors have described this "mosaic-only" response to infection at different temperatures as resistance, "tolerance", or as a reaction f...