Open AccessSugarcane Yellow Leaf Disease in Brazil: Evidence of Association with a Luteovirus
Author(s) -
Jorge Rubén Vega,
S. M. M. Scagliusi,
E. C. Ulian
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
plant disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.663
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1943-7692
pISSN - 0191-2917
DOI - 10.1094/pdis.1997.81.1.21
Subject(s) - luteovirus , biology , antiserum , phloem , virus , immunogold labelling , virology , electron microscope , barley yellow dwarf , plant virus , botany , antigen , ultrastructure , genetics , physics , optics
Evidence of the viral etiology of sugarcane yellow leaf disease (SCYLD), occurring in southeast Brazil, was obtained by light and electron microscopy combined with serology. Light microscopy using epifluorescence illumination showed an abnormal yellow-green fluorescing material in the phloem of SCYLD-affected plants that was rarely observed in control plants. Immunolocalization in tissue-printed (or -blotted) nitrocellulose membranes, using barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) serotype PAV antiserum, showed a weak but clearly positive reaction in the phloem. Isometric viruslike particles of 24 to 26 nm in diameter were found by electron microscopy both in situ and in partially purified preparations. Examination of thin sections showed that phloem companion cells contained viruslike particles and presented cytological changes apparently related to the development of virus infection. Partially purified preparations produced UV absorption spectra typical of a nucleoprotein, with high absorbance at 260 nm, as expected for isometric virus particles. Virus particles were observed in extracts and partially purified preparations using immunosorbent electron microscopy with BYDV-PAV antiserum. Plate-trapped antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with the same antiserum indicate a weak serological relationship between BYDV-PAV and SCYLD-associated virus.