Snake River alfalfa virus, a persistent virus infecting alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in Washington State, USA

• Published in: Virology journal Vol. 20; no. 1; p. 32
• Main Authors: Postnikova, Olga A, Irish, Brian M, Eisenback, Jonathan, Nemchinov, Lev G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 19-02-2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Alfalfa; Brief Report; Cultivars; Diseases and pests; Double-stranded RNA; Endornavirus; Flowers & plants; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Host plants; Identification and classification; Infections; Maximum likelihood method; Medicago sativa; Medicago sativa L; Pathogens; Phylogenetics; Plant viruses; Rivers; RNA polymerase; Seed transmission; Seeds; Snake River alfalfa virus; Virus diseases of plants; Viruses; Washington; Washington; United States; United States > US; Snake River; Endornavirus; Seed transmission; Alfalfa; Snake River alfalfa virus; Medicago sativa L
• ISSN: 1743-422X; 1743-422X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12985-023-01991-7

Here we report an occurrence of Snake River alfalfa virus (SRAV) in Washington state, USA. SRAV was recently identified in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plants and western flower thrips in south-central Idaho and proposed to be a first flavi-like virus identified in a plant host. We argue that the SRAV, based on its prevalence in alfalfa plants, readily detectable dsRNA, genome structure, presence in alfalfa seeds, and seed-mediated transmission is a persistent new virus distantly resembling members of the family Endornaviridae.