The identity of barley yellow dwarf virus isolates in cereals and grasses from mainland Australia

Abstract

Four serologically distinct types of barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) were identified infecting cereals and grasses collected around mainland Australia. On the basis of serological relatedness to North American type-isolateq, the Australian isolates were classified as MAV-, PAV-, RMV- and RPV-like. However, aphid transmission studies showed that, while the Australian PAV-, RPV-, and RMV-like isolates had conventional vector relationships, the Australian MAV-like isolates had Rhopaloszphium padi as a major vector species. Differences in the Sitobion species occurring in North America and Australia made comparisons of the transmissibility of MAV- and PAV-like isolates by these vectors impractical. Isolates serologically like PAV were by far the most common viruses in each State surveyed, with the next most common varying from State to State. The identifications of RMV- and MAV-like isolates are the first confirmed records of these types of BYDV in Australia.