LMV can also infect other crops such as spinach and peas, as well as ornamentals (especially the Cape Daisy Osteospermum spp) and wild plants (especially the prickly lettuce Lactuca serriola and the oxtongue Helminthia echioides).

[1]  The disease gets its name from the characteristic green and yellow mottling and mosaic pattern that develops on the leaves of infected plants.

Some infected plants also fail to form small heads, grow irregularly-shaped leaves, and experience stunting.

Plants that were infected at later stages of growth develop mottling on leaves ranging from light-green to yellow in color.

Diagnostic tests that may be used to confirm the infection include serological methods such as lateral-flow devices and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The development of these diagnostic techniques has led to an increase in the speed of diagnosis, allowing for it to occur in-field for lettuce crops.

[1] Spread of the virus by non-persistent aphids has a short feeding period of less than one minute for transmission.

The virus spread due to an increased exchange of seeds of various lettuce varieties between countries.

[7] It also impacts regions of South America (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay), Asia (China, Japan, Syria) and the Middle East (Egypt, Israel, Jordan).

When planted in cultivars of Little Gem and Saladin, LMV was found to cause devastating yield losses of 85% and 55%, respectively.