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Title: MAIZE RAYADO FINO VIRUS: ISOLATE VARIABILITY AND EVOLUTION IN LATIN AMERICA

Author
item Hammond, Rosemarie
item KOGEL, RICHARD - UNIV OF COSTA RICA
item RAMIREZ, PILAR - UNIV OF COSTA RICA

Submitted to: Virology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/21/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The leafhopper-borne maize rayado fino virus (MRFV) is a widespread and economically important pathogen of maize in Latin America. Virus incidence can vary from 0 - 100% depending upon the plant genotype, seasonal conditions, and geographic location and average yield reductions of 40 - 50% can occur in individual cultivars. The virus, its insect vector, and maize also occur in many ecological zones. A study of the biological variation of MRFV is of importance for understanding the epidemiology of the disease. We have examined the phylogenetic relationships of strains collected from the United States to Peru and have found that the isolates group according to their geographic location. This information should prove useful to ecologists, breeders, and plant pathologists whose work involves maize germplasm.

Technical Abstract: We have sequenced the coat protein genes and 3'-non-translated regions (NTR) of 14 isolates of the leafhopper-borne maize rayado fino virus (MRFV) collected from Latin America and the United States and examined their phylogenetic relationships. The nucleotide sequence revealed remarkable sequence conservation, with a sequence similarity of 89 - 97%. Sequence data obtained from a 633 base pair fragment showed that MRFV has diverged into three main groups, i.e. the geographically distinct northern and southern isolates and the Colombian isolates. Phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequence data revealing significant differences between the isolates collected from Colombia, tentatively identified as maize rayado colombiano virus based upon symptomatology, from the other MRFV isolates provides more evidence for its designation as a unique strain of MRFV. The high nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarities suggest that selective pressures are high to maintain nucleotide and amino acid conservation for biological function.