New advancements in BYDV testing
Researchers in the Teagasc Crops Research Centre, Oak Park, have developed a new method to facilitate more accurate detection of Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV), in both the barley host and the aphid vector.
A disease causing significant yield losses and negative impacts on grain quality, the virus is spread by aphid species such as the English grain aphid and the bird-cherry oat aphid.
In order to support integrated pest management and to develop more robust tools to monitor aphid borne diseases in Ireland, Teagasc Walsh Scholar, Virgile Ballandras completed a study with Teagasc and Maynooth University, which has developed a droplet digital PCR assay to detect and quantify BYDV-MAV and BYDV-PAS – two of the main BYDV species found in Ireland - in their barley host and aphid vectors. The results of this study have been recently published in the Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research.
Overall, the study proved successful, showing that a droplet digital PCR assay could be used to differentiate the two species (BYDV-MAV and BYDV-PAS) from each other in both the aphid and the barley plant, and thus allowing for a better understanding of the underlying BYDV infection and transmission from the early stage of infection to the appearance of the symptoms. This is beneficial for the further development of a rapid detection tool to allow virus detection from complex insect samples such as those obtained from suction-tower traps, to support the evaluation of new barley genetics with potential resistances to BYDV, and to monitor virus progression in the plant over time.