Detection of Sugarcane Yellow Leaf Luteovirus of India

A luteovirus was found associated with midrib yellowing symptoms of sugarcane in India. The virus was earlier identified as sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) on the basis of particle morphology and serological relationships. In this study, we attempted molecular characterization of an Indian isolate of SCYLV through reverse trascriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Comparison showed that the deduced amino acid sequence share 98% homology with an isolate from Texas (cultivar CC85-964) and 100% homology with corresponding sequences of an Australian isolate of SCYLV (found in cultivar CP 65-357). Phylogenetic analysis also suggests that the coat protein of the SCYLV genome possesses different taxonomic affinities with other members of the family Luteoviridae.