Identification and characterization of Miscanthus yellow fleck virus, a new polerovirus infecting Miscanthus sinensis.

Miscanthus sinensis is a grass used for sugarcane breeding and bioenergy production. Using high throughput sequencing technologies, we identified a new viral genome in infected M. sinensis leaf tissue displaying yellow fleck symptoms. This virus is most related to members of the genus Polerovirus in the family Luteoviridae. The canonical ORFs were computationally identified, the P3 coat protein was expressed, and virus-like particles were purified and found to conform to icosahedral shapes, characteristic of the family Luteoviridae. We propose the name Miscanthus yellow fleck virus for this new virus.