A black-streaked dwarf disease on rice in China is caused by a novel fijivirus.

An isolate of a plant reovirus causing severe stunting and dark leaf symptoms on rice from Guangdong, China, was similar in virion morphology and serologically related to rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV). The electrophoretic profiles of genome segments of the two viruses in agarose or polyacrylamide gel were indistinguishable. The four genome segments of the new isolate corresponding to RBSDV S7-S10 were amplified by ligation RT-PCR and sequenced. The size and organization of each genome segment was very similar to its counterparts in RBSDV, maize rough dwarf virus (MRDV), and mal de Rio Cuarto virus (MRCV). Sequence identity was greatest to RBSDV and MRDV (ranging from about 60-85% depending on the protein), but identities were always much lower than those between RBSDV and MRDV. These comparisons and phylogenetic analyses suggested that the virus represents a new species in genus Fijivirus group 2, tentatively named Rice black-streaked dwarf virus-2.