Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) is a plant virus
and the type member of the Benyvirus genus. BNYVV is responsible
for rhizomania, a disease of sugar beet (Rhizo: root; Mania:
madness) that causes proliferation of thin rootlets, and leads to a
smaller tap root with reduced sugar content. Infected plants are
less able to take up water, and wilting can be observed during the
warm period of the year. If the infection spreads to the whole
plant, vein yellowing, necrosis and yellow spots appear on the
leaves, giving the virus its name.
BNYVV is transmitted by the protozoan Polymyxa betae (initially
thought to be a fungus). Polymyxa forms highly resistant spores
that can rest in soils for more than two decades. The virus can
rest in these spores, and when the spores germinate into mobile
zoospores, they transmit the virus to the plant.
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