Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » National Germplasm Resources Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #422975
Research Project: Characterization and Detection of Viruses that Impact the Exchange and Curation of Plant Germplasm

Location: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory

Title: Characterization of divergent strains of miscanthus streak virus on Miscanthus sacchariflorus

Author
item Abrahamian, Peter
item SCHULDEN, TAYLOR - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item BERA, SAYANTA - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item PAULSON, ANNA - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item HU, XIAOJUN - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item YU, CHANG-YEON - Kangwon National University
item GHIMIRE, BIMAL - Konkuk University
item WON SEO, JI - Kangwon National University
item SEONG, EUN SOO - Kangwon National University
item ADHIKARI, BISHWO - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Submitted to: PhytoFrontiers
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/29/2025
Publication Date: 5/7/2025
Citation: Abrahamian, P., Schulden, T., Bera, S., Paulson, A., Hu, X., Yu, C., Ghimire, B.K., Won Seo, J., Seong, E., Adhikari, B. 2025. Characterization of divergent strains of miscanthus streak virus on Miscanthus sacchariflorus. PhytoFrontiers. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-03-25-0019-A.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-03-25-0019-A

Interpretive Summary: Miscanthus is a grass that is used for biomass production, as an ornamental, and can also be used in sugarcane breeding. Miscanthus plants imported from South Korea were grown under quarantine conditions. The plants displayed yellowing, mosaic and streaking symptoms. Genetic material was extracted from these plants and sequenced, revealing the presence of Miscanthus streak virus (MiSV), a DNA virus. The sequence was compared to one sequenced 30 years ago. The comparison showed a striking divergence. Based on the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses classification criteria, the virus sequences reported here represent a novel strain of MiSV. Knowledge of this new strain helps keep the disease out of the U.S., and is essential information to stakeholders who curate, exchange, and conduct research and development on Miscanthus and sugarcane.

Technical Abstract: A novel and divergent strain of Miscanthus streak virus (MiSV) was isolated from Miscanthus sacchariflorus from South Korea. The complete genome of MiSV is 2,675 nt and predicted to encode four open reading frames on the virus and complimentary strands. Mastrevirus miscanthi (syn. Miscanthus streak virus) is a member of the genus Mastrevirus and family Geminiviridae. MiSV has previously been reported from Japan more than 30 years ago. MiSV shares a pairwise nucleotide identity of 84% with the type strain from Japan. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete genome sequence placed these strains in a distinct sub-clade of MiSV. The isolates recovered represent new strains of MiSV and are phylogenetically divergent.