Virus name: Maize mosaic virus (MMV).
Classification status: Nucleorhabdovirus, family Rhabdoviridae. The code in the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) is 01.062.0.05.004.
Virus synonym: Marmor zeae (Corn stripe disease).
Virus purification: There is currently no satisfactory purification method. Methods including differential centrifugation, fluorocarbon treatment, or sucrose density gradient centrifugation can only achieve partial purification.
Virus particles: Virus particles are bullet-shaped or bacilli-shaped. The size of the particles in negatively stained dipped specimens is about 225nm*90nm, while in the sections of the host plant, the size is 242nm*48nm. The particles have an outer membrane with linear or nodular protrusions. The outer membrane is surrounded by a helical structure with a pitch of 4.6 nm. Each helix includes 35 subunits. There seems to be a central pith within the helical structure. In some particles, the pith appears to be uniform, while in other particles it is composed of spherical material (Herold & Munz, 1967).
Strains: thin-striped strain (MMV-raya fina) and thick-striped strain (MMV-raya gruesa).
Other: A disease called "sorghum freckled yellow" may also be caused by corn mosaic virus. Because the symptoms on sorghum are very similar to those caused by corn mosaic virus on corn plants, the disease is spread between sorghum plants by the Philippine corn waxhopper, and corn growing near sorghum diseased plants will also show the same symptoms. Symptoms (Cherian & Kylasam, 1936). Moreover, experiments have shown that Wangmi mosaic virus can be transmitted from corn to sorghum, and conversely, from sorghum to corn.
Morphologically, corn mosaic virus is very similar to animal viruses in the rhabdovirus group. Among this group of plant viruses, corn mosaic virus is related to the nuclear membrane, so it is closely related to clover otovirus, eggplant mottled dwarf virus, lettuce necrotic yellow virus, potato yellow dwarf virus, rice transient flavivirus, Gesneria yellow vein virus is similar to wheat striate mosaic viruses. The antiserum of lettuce necrosis and yellowing virus did not react with the corn mosaic virus in the crude extract of corn diseased plants.