This virus has a worldwide distribution and a very wide host range. 1934, hence the name Cucumber mosaic. Since then, it has been found to infect a great variety of other plants. CMV also induces cucumber flower type of symptom on leaves known as the “shoestring” effect on many host species.
This effect causes young leaves to appear narrow and the entire plant to be stunted. Specifically, CMV can cause cucumbers to turn pale and bumpy. The leaves of these plants turn mosaic and their rugosity is often changed, making leaves wrinkled and misshapen. Growth of these plants is usually also stunted and produces few flowers. Often, cucumber fruits are oddly shaped, appear gray, and tested bitter. These appearances lead to them being referred to as “white pickles”.
Tomato plants are usually stunted and have poorly shaped leaves, or “fernleaf”, when infected by CMV. Also certain strains of CMV can cause partial or total crop loss. CMV in peppers causes slightly different symptoms than the previously mentioned. Pepper plants often have severe foliar damage, shown as mosaic and necrotic rings. CMV has also been identified in a lesser extent to a number of plant species. It is found to be a minor virus infecting Allium crops.
In plant tissue this virus makes characteristic viral inclusion bodies which can be diagnostic. CMV is non-persistently non-circulatively transmitted by more than 80 different aphid species, among other vectors. As consequences, the virus is easily spread, and can be found worldwide. CMV infects over 1200 plant species, including important crops and ornamental species. CMV is mainly transmitted by aphids, but it can also be mechanically spread by humans in some cases.