A probable rhabdovirus infecting ryegrass (Lolium spp.)

A particle with morphology characteristic of the rhabdovirus group was found in leaf‐dips and thin sections of symptomless Lolium spp. from several places in Britain. The particle was not transmitted mechanically nor by a number of groups of possible arthropod vectors.

Despite the lack of conclusive evidence for the viral nature of the particle its morphology and intracellular localization strongly suggest that it is a member of the rhabdovirus group. This is the first report of such a particle in Lolium spp. and in Gramineae in Britain. The presumed virus is tentatively called ryegrass bacilliform virus (RBV).