Maize (Zea mays L.) constitutes a novel host to Sugarcane yellow leaf virus

Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) is a Polerovirus of the Luteoviridae family. In this study, SCYLV was transmitted by sugarcane aphids, Melanaphis sacchari, to two maize (Zea mays L.) lines. Infection of the maize plants was confirmed using RT-PCR with diagnostic primers YLS111 and YLS462, which produced the expected 351 bp band. The RT-PCR results were further confirmed by northern blot analysis, which revealed an accumulation of SCYLV at high levels in both maize lines. The northern blot analysis using RNA isolated from virus-infected maize plants also revealed that the genome of SCYLV is divided and contains genomic RNA (gRNA) and two subgenomic RNAs (sgRNAs) as observed in sugarcane, with estimated sizes of 6.0, 2.4 and 1.0 kb, respectively. The virus titre increased rapidly in the internodes of sugarcane cultivar H87-4094 from internode #1 (immature) to #7 (mature). This demonstrates the first successful transmission of Sugarcane yellow leaf virus by M. sacchari to maize plants.