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Etiology

Legume Yellows Virus, a New Persistent Aphid-Transmitted Virus of Legumes in California. James E. Duffus, Plant pathologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agricultural Research Station, P.O. Box 5098, Salinas, CA 93915; Phytopathology 69:217-221. Accepted for publication 8 September 1978. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1979. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-69-217.

Legume yellows virus, which has host range and vector characteristics similar to pea leaf roll virus (PeLRV) and other legume yellowing viruses, recently was found to be widely distributed in California legumes. It is transmitted in a persistent manner by Acyrthosiphon pisum and A. solani to a large number of leguminous species including Pisum sativum, Trifolium incarnatum, T. subterraneum, Vicia faba, Cicer arietinum, Medicago sativa, and Glycine max, but not to over 30 species in 13 nonleguminous plant families. Purified preparations containing monodisperse icosahedral particles ~ 25 nm in diameter proved to be infectious when fed to aphids through membranes. The virus is not identical but very similar to other legume-infecting yellowing viruses such as PeLRV or subterranean clover red leaf viruses (SCRLV). The virus differs markedly from beet western yellows virus (BWYV) in host range and vector specificity but was shown to be closely related to BWYV in reciprocal infectivity neutralization tests.