1College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
2The Texas A&M University Agricultural Experiment Station, Weslaco, TX, 78596, USA.
Abstracts of the papers presented at the International Conference of Indian Virological Society on “Emerging and Re-emerging viral Diseases of the Tropics and Subtropics” at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, December 11–14, 2007.
During the last several years, yellow leaf disease caused by Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) has been spredaing rapidly in the sugarcane growing area of south China. Two species of aphids, Melanaphis sacchari and Rhopalosiphum maidis, which are well known for insect vectors of SCYLV, in other sugarcane growing areas, are rare in south China. In this study, a nested RT-PCR technique was established to detect SCYLV in individual aphids, Ceratovacuna lanigera, which is a predominant sugarcane- and sorghum-colonizing aphid species found in south China. The nested RT-PCR data showed that 88% (14/16) of wingless adult aphids that were fed on SCYLV-infected sugarcane for more than two weeks were SCYLV positive. The ability of C. lanigera as a vector for SCYLV was further confirmed by challenging various plant species with ten wingless adult aphids per plant which were acquired from the virus infected sugarcane. 100% of thirty-two aphid-challenged sugarcane seedlings including varieties Badila, Q127, Q135, HoCP91-55 and Yuetang 83-88, and ten sorghum plants were SCYLV positive. 75% and 50% of the aphid-challenged rice and maize plants, respectively, were infected with SCYLV whereas none of wheat and banana plants were infected with virus.
