REPLY
We thank Ochoa-Corona et al. for finding an inadvertent error in our recent publication (1). We erroneously noted the reported presence of Wheat mosaic virus (WMoV), also known as High Plains virus (HPV), in New Zealand (1; see the Author Correction in this issue). Our statement was based on our misinterpretation of the detection of this pathogen in maize seed lots from the United States by scientists working in New Zealand (2). According to Lebas et al. (2), “neither the virus nor its vector is present in New Zealand.” It should be noted, however, that the vector, the wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella, also known as Eriophyes tulipae), was reported in New Zealand 30 years ago (3), though it is unclear whether permanent populations were established. To our knowledge, there are no published reports of WoMV (HPV) in New Zealand. We sincerely regret this error.
The causal agent of High Plains disease was originally named High Plains virus (4), which was later changed to Wheat mosaic virus (WMoV) (5), as per the widely used conventions of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses for naming new taxa. To avoid further confusion, we simply followed Skare et al.'s (5) proposed designation, WMoV, as the causal agent of High Plains disease in our recent publication (1). Since the genome of the causal agent of High Plains disease has been characterized under the name WMoV (1) together with the fact that the name WMoV was used in several recent publications (5–8), we encourage the official adoption of WMoV as the causal agent of High Plains disease to avoid a prolonged identity crisis for this virus.
Footnotes
This is a response to a letter by Ochoa-Corona et al. (doi:10.1128/JVI.00676-15).
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