Identification of weed hosts of Rice yellow mottle Sobemovirus at Sayen Gobirawa, northern Nigeria

Abstract

A study was carried out to identify the weed hosts of Rice yellow mottle Sobemovirus (RYMV) at Sayen Gobirawa, northern Nigeria during the 2005/06 cropping season. Weed species with or without the typical symptoms of the virus were collected in and around the RYMV-infected rice field. The detection of the pathogen was based on double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) and bioassays of cultivated plants. All the weed species (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers, Cyperus esculentus L., Cyperus rotundus L., Eleocharis complanata Boeck, Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertner, Fuirena umbellata Rottb., Imperata cylinrica L., Kyllinga pumila Michaux and Paspalum vaginatum Sw.) tested positive for RYMV. The present results suggest that some weed grasses belonging to the families Cyperaceae and Poaceae could serve as natural hosts of RYMV and therefore could play a significant role in the spread of the disease.