Symptom evaluation, sampling, and molecular detection for two rice diseases (rice yellow mottle and Bacterial leaf streak) in western Burkina Faso (2021-2022)

Co-occurrence of multiple diseases and co-infection of individual plants by various pathogens have potential epidemiological and evolutionary implications. However detailed epidemiolocal assessment involving multiple diseases remain rare, especially considering pathogens from different kingdoms. We aimed to document co-occurrences and co-infections for a viral and a bacterial disease of rice in Burkina Faso. Indeed, previous investigations documented the co-circulation of the rice yellow mottle disease (caused by the rice yellow mottle virus, RYMV) and bacterial leaf streak (BLS, due to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola, Xoc) in Burkina Faso, and also experimental evidence of interactions between the pathogens causing these two diseases. The current study was performed to monitor these two pathogens in two sites from western Burkina faso, and two consecutive years, by combining symptom observations with specific molecular detection.