Pea seed-borne mosaic virus: a review

Overview & Synopsis

Pea seed-borne mosaic virus (PSbMV), an economically significant seed-transmitted virus of pea has been commonly found in pea germplasm collections of many countries. The virus is suspected to have spread world-wide due to the exchange of infected germplasm material. Owing to the secondary spread of the virus in the field by aphid vectors, a low level of seed infection leads to a high proportion of the disease. The symptoms produced on sensitive pea cultivars are often not very characteristic. Resistance to this virus, known to be governed by a recessive gene ’sbm’, is in the process of being incorporated into improved pea varieties. Before accomplishing this genetic programme, testing of seed lots by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay can greatly contribute in limiting the spread of the virus. In view of the importance of the disease and of the area of pea under cultivation, the present review has sought to deal at length with diverse aspects of the disease and the virus and also the sources and inheritance of resistance to PSbMV in pea germplasm collections.