Response of wheatgrasses and wheat × wheatgrass hybrids to barley yellow dwarf virus

Resistance to barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV), manifested by low enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) values in plants exposed to viruliferous aphids, was identified in several wheatgrasses (Agropyron spp.). ELISA results were similar for root and leaf extracts of infested plants. No difference in reaction to BYDV was found between plants grown in the field and those in the growth chamber. Interspecific hybrids were generated using pollen from single resistant plants of Agropyron spp. to pollinate soft red winter wheat spikes. Resistance in hybrids appeared to be at the level of virus replication rather than at the level of vector inoculation. The hybrids varied in their reaction to BYDV. Expression of BYDV resistance in hybrids was influenced not only by wheat genotype and Agropyron species but, in some cases, reaction varied even among hybrids between the same wheat genotype and Agropyron plant. Implications of these results are discussed.