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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Canal Point, Florida » Sugarcane Field Station » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #353164
Research Project: Identification of Resistant Germplasm and Markers Associated with Resistance to Major Diseases of Sugarcane

Location: Sugarcane Field Station

Title: Transmission of Sugarcane yellow leaf virus to sugarcane using arthropod vectors in Florida

Author
item BOUKARI, W - University Of Florida
item WEI, C - Guangxi University
item Sood, Sushma
item TANG, L - Guangxi University
item NUESSLY, G - University Of Florida
item BEUZELIN, J - University Of Florida
item ROTT, PHILIPE - University Of Florida

Submitted to: American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/30/2018
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: N/A

Technical Abstract: Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is the primary host of sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV), the causal agent of yellow leaf disease. SCYLV is known to be vectored by the sugarcane aphid (Melanaphis sacchari) and has at least two additional natural hosts in Florida: the weed Columbus grass (Sorghum almum) and grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) which are also colonized by M. sacchari. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficiency of SCYLV transmission from sugarcane and Columbus grass to sugarcane. Colonies of M. sacchari were raised on SCYLV-infected and SCYLV-free plants of sugarcane and Columbus grass. Leaf fragments carrying 20-50 aphids from each source plant were transferred to healthy young plants of sugarcane cultivar CP96-1252 obtained from tissue culture. Infested plants were maintained in insect-proof cages in a greenhouse for 14 days before aphid elimination by insecticide application. Presence of SCYLV in inoculated plants was tested 3 and 6 months post aphid infestation by tissue blot immunoassay (TBIA) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The 108 plants inoculated with SCYLV from S. almum and the 49 plants inoculated with SCYLV from sugarcane all tested negative by TBIA and/or RT-PCR. For undetermined reasons, aphids used in this study were not able to transmit SCYLV from infected to healthy plants. Spider mites feeding on sugarcane infected by SCYLV recently tested positive for this virus by RT-PCR and sequencing. Transmission experiments with spider mites are in progress to determine the capacity of these arthropods to transmit the causal agent of yellow leaf in Florida.