• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Saturday, October 4, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Wheat virus crosses over, harms native grasses

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
January 17, 2017
in Science News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram
IMAGE

Credit: Photo by Layne Cameron

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Once upon a time, it was thought that crop diseases affected only crops. New research shows, however, that a common wheat virus can spread and harm perennial native grasses.

In the current issue of the Journal of Ecology, researchers from Michigan State University, University of Kansas and University of Virginia show that farmers and scientists need to think about how best to protect native plants from diseases emanating from crops.

"Crop fields were once considered tiny islands in a sea of wild vegetation, so farmers and scientists focused on protecting crops from wild pathogens," said Carolyn Malmstrom, MSU plant biologist and co-lead author of the study. "Now, around the world, the situation has reversed, and diseases from agricultural fields affect not only crops, but also substantially harm native plants, such as switchgrass."

The findings were based on a multi-year field study in Kansas. There, like in much of the Midwest, plains of native grasses have been transformed to fields of wheat or other cereal crops. Now, it's the patches of grasses that are the islands in an ocean of crops.

A widespread wheat pathogen, barley yellow dwarf virus, can cross over and affect switchgrass, a prime candidate for biofuel research. The research team combined the field results with a statistical model and showed that the virus can reduce the vitality of switchgrass by 30 percent.

Interestingly, the infection can affect switchgrass' growth even though the native plant displays hardly any signs of sickness.

"Crops have been bred for yield, sometimes at the cost of plant defense. If they are susceptible, fast-growing crops can serve as highly competent hosts that amplify viruses within a region," Malmstrom said. "In these 'domesticated' landscapes, farmers, conservation biologists and epidemiologists need to be aware that diseases from crops can move into wild and native plants, which may need protection."

While the study focused on merely one virus, it shows that science needs to catch up in understanding how crops influence native plants and to build more knowledge of virus ecology in general.

"There are many mysteries surrounding how crop viruses affect natural ecosystems," Malmstrom said. "It's important that we build a base of research in this area. For example, if a novel virus emerges and threatens important species, we will need to draw on baseline information about virus ecology to address it; the big gaps in understanding need to be tackled."

###

The research team comprised Helen Alexander, KU, Emily Bruns, UVA, and Hayley Schebor, MSU.

Malmstrom's research is funded in part by MSU AgBioResearch and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Media Contact

Layne Cameron
[email protected]
517-353-8819
@MSUnews

http://msutoday.msu.edu/journalists/

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

tRF-34-86J8WPMN1E8Y2Q Fuels Gastric Cancer Progression

October 4, 2025

Discovering Wuwei Xiaodu Decoction’s Anti-Inflammatory Mechanisms

October 4, 2025

“Rice Cultivar Transcriptome Reveals Heat Stress Response Genes”

October 4, 2025

UmamiPredict: AI Unveils Umami Taste of Molecules

October 4, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    93 shares
    Share 37 Tweet 23
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    90 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • New Insights Suggest ALS May Be an Autoimmune Disease

    69 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 17

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

tRF-34-86J8WPMN1E8Y2Q Fuels Gastric Cancer Progression

Discovering Wuwei Xiaodu Decoction’s Anti-Inflammatory Mechanisms

“Rice Cultivar Transcriptome Reveals Heat Stress Response Genes”

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Success! An email was just sent to confirm your subscription. Please find the email now and click 'Confirm' to start subscribing.

Join 62 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.