Pangola stunt virus infecting pangola grass and summer grass in Australia

Abstract

A widespread disease of pangola grass (Digitaria decumbens) and summer grass (D. ciliaris) in south-eastern Queensland was characterized by a bunched and stunted growth habit, yellow or red discolouration of the foliage, seed heads with crimped, distorted racemes, and sometimes premature plant death. Virus-like particles present in extracts of diseased plants were unstable, 50-70 nm in diameter, had a core and outer coat and were morphologically similar to particles of viruses in the genus Fijivirus, family Reoviridae. The particles were shown by immune electron microscopy to be serologically closely related to pangola stunt and maize rough dwarf viruses, but unrelated to oat sterile dwarf virus. Similar virus-like particles were observed in crystalline arrays in ultrathin sections of cells in vein enations of D. ciliaris. Extracts of diseased pangola grass and summer grass contained 10 double-stranded RNA species, which were somewhat similar in size to those reported for pangola stunt virus. A planthopper, Sogatella kolophon, which is related to the South American vector of pangola stunt virus, S. furcifera, was associated with diseased pangola grass and summer grass in the field, and was shown to be a vector. However, efforts to infect maize, a major host of maize rough dwarf virus, were unsuccessful. On the basis of these properties the Australian virus is considered to be pangola stunt virus.