Abstract

Chlorotic and necrotic lesions were observed on leaves of Yucca elephantipes exported from Costa Rica and Guatemala. Bacilliform-shaped particles resembling those of a badnavirus were observed in leaf extracts of symptomatic plants. Two sequences with homology to open reading frame III of the badnavirus genome were amplified from total genomic DNA extracted from these plants. The virus-like particles and symptoms could not be mechanically transmitted to herbaceous indicators. The disease symptoms, host range and geographical distribution resemble those of Yucca bacilliform virus and the PCR-amplified sequences may represent the first obtained for this virus.