Rhizomania, caused by Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV), is widely considered to be one of the major threats to European sugar beet productivity. Currently, partially resistant varieties are available for controlling the disease. More recently, questions have been raised since the detection of aggressive BNYVV sources or types at several locations in Europe and America. Furthermore, the complexity of the disease has been emphasized by the role of the virus vector, the plasmodiophorid Polymyxa betae, and the role of three other soil-borne viruses also found in association with sugar beet, Beet soil-borne mosaic virus, a Benyvirus similar to the BNYVV and the two pomoviruses Beet soil-borne virus and Beet virus Q. To address the increasingly complex challenge of this multi-faceted disease, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers has gathered within the IIRB pest and disease group. This team is comprised of members from academic research, national sugar beet research institutes and sugar beet breeding companies, from different disciplines including virology, mycology and plant breeding. The aim of this network is to add value to research currently pursued locally; the group acts as a think tank where ideas are highlighted and discussed openly. The current strategies or technical approaches being used to investigate the problem include the use of full-length infectious viral clones, the study of the proteins possibly involved in the virus-plant interaction through 2-D gel electrophoresis and the yeast two-hybrid system, the analysis of the virus variability through specific sequencing of the viral genome, the study of virus-virus and virus-vector interactions, as well as the development of research tools for the quantification and the detection of Polymyxa. The research on rhizomania has therefore been triggered by the exchange of working material (e.g. reference soils, sugar beet varieties), research results, and by joint research and publications on BNYVV as well as by the exchange of researchers and joint meetings. Published results on rhizomania from the different group members will be used to summarize current knowledge and challenges posed by the disease, thus highlighting the benefits of a cooperative approach for studying this complex disease.