Widespread occurrence and molecular characterization of barley dwarf geminivirus in Iran

Yellows diseases cause considerable losses in many wheat and barley fields throughout Iran. Association of barley yellow dwarf viruses with such diseases has been reported previously. However, there have been many cases in which no barley yellow dwarf viruses have identified. In the present paper, we report widespread association of Iranian isolate of barley dwarf geminivirus (BDV-Ir) with yellows diseases of cereal crops in this country. BDV-Ir was identified in many yellow-affected samples of barley and wheat from northern, northwestern, northeastern, central and southern Iran using PCR with specific primers. The full length sequence of theBDV-Ir genome was determined. It showed 90-91% similarity with the complete genome of BDV isolates from Germany at nucleotide level. Using dot blot hybridization with full genome as probe, BDV-Ir was detected in 35 of 156 yellows affected samples. It is concluded that BDV-Ir is a major component of yellows complex in cereal fields in Iran. This study was supported by funds from Centers of Excellence and TWAS-IC.