Oyster Mushroom Spherical Virus Crosses the Species Barrier and Is Pathogenic to a New Host .

Oyster mushroom spherical virus (OMSV) is a mycovirus with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome that infects the edible mushroom . OMSV is horizontally transferred from an infected strain to a cured strain via mycelia. The infection results in significant inhibition of mycelial growth, malformation of fruiting bodies, and yield loss in oyster mushrooms. This study successfully transferred OMSV from to . However, transmission was not successful in other species including , , , and . The successful OMSV infection in was further verified with Western blot analysis using a newly prepared polyclonal antiserum against the OMSV coat protein. Furthermore, OMSV infection reduced the mycelial growth rate of . The OMSV-infected strain demonstrated abnormal performance including twisted mushrooms or irregular edge of the cap as well as reduced yield of fruiting bodies in , compared to the OMSV-free strain. This study is the first report on the infection and pathogenicity of OMSV to the new host . The data from this study therefore suggest that OMSV is a potential threat to .