Electron microscopic and physicochemical analysis of a reo-like virus of the planthopper Peregrinus maidis.

A virus, determined to be a member of the Reoviridae, was found naturally infecting colonies of Peregrinus maidis, the maize planthopper. The virus, referred to as peregrinus maidis-virus (PgMV), was found by electron microscopy throughout all P. maidis tissues examined, including salivary glands, testes, ovaries, and intestines. The virus particles were associated with fibrillar viroplasmic inclusions in the cytoplasm, of a type characteristic of the Reoviridae. The particles, purified from P. maidis, had morphologies typical of the Reoviridae, with a mean diameter of 68.7 nm. The purified virus contained 12 double-stranded (ds)RNAs, while dsRNA extracts of PgMV-infected P. maidis showed these, plus one additional high-molecular weight dsRNA. No similar dsRNAs were present in extracts of another planthopper. Perkinsiella saccharicida, the corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis), or from Zea mays upon which the P. maidis had been reared. Six major and four minor proteins were identified in purified PgMV preparations, but we were unable to determine which of these were definitely of viral or host origin. PgMV was found to be serologically unrelated to three other members of the Reoviridae. The similarities of PgMV to other members of the Reoviridae are discussed.