Archives of Virology (2010) 155, 1529-1534

Rob W. Briddon, Darren P. Martin, Betty E. Owor, Lara Donaldson, Peter G. Markham, Ray S. Greber and Arvind Varsani (2010)
A novel species of mastrevirus (family Geminiviridae) isolated from Digitaria didactyla grass from Australia
Archives of Virology 155 (9), 1529-1534
Abstract: Mastreviruses (family Geminiviridae) that infect monocotyledonous plants occur throughout the temperate and tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. Despite the identification of a very diverse array of mastrevirus species whose members infect African monocots, few such species have been discovered in other parts of the world. For example, the sequence of only a single monocot-infecting mastrevirus, Chloris striate mosaic virus (CSMV), has been reported so far from Australia, even though earlier biological and serological studies suggested that other distinct mastreviruses were present. Here, we have obtained the complete nucleotide sequence of a virus from the grass Digitaria didactyla originating from Australia. Analysis of the sequence shows the virus to be a typical mastrevirus, with four open reading frames, two in each orientation, separated by two non-coding intergenic regions. Although it showed the highest levels of sequence identity to CSMV (68.7%), their sequences are sufficiently diverse for the virus to be considered a member of a new species in the genus Mastrevirus, based on the present species demarcation criteria. We propose that the name first used during the 1980s be used for this species, Digitaria didactyla striate mosaic virus (DDSMV).
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Rob W. Briddon, Darren P. Martin

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
molecular biology - genes
identification/taxonomy

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Digitaria didactyla striate mosaic virus	Digitaria (crop)