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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #165600

Title: DETECTION OF PLANT VIRUSES IN NEMATODE VECTORS BY RT/PCR

Author
item Kraus, Jennifer
item Pinkerton, John
item Martin, Robert

Submitted to: APS Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/16/2004
Publication Date: 6/11/2004
Citation: Kraus, J.E., Pinkerton, J.N., Martin, R.R. Detection of plant viruses in nematode vectors by rt/pcr. Phytopathology. 2004. v.94 p. S55.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Tomato ringspot virus (ToRSV), Tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV) and Tobacco rattle virus(TRV) are transmitted to healthy plants by viruliferous nematodes in the soil. These viruses cause diseases in economically important vegetable and fruit crops and have been controlled with mixed results. As soil fumigants are now being phased out or banned due to environmental concerns, interest in alternatives, such as crop rotation to eliminate virus from nematodes, has increased. To examine the effectiveness of these alternatives in removing virus from the vector/virus/host system, traditional virus-transmission assays are being replaced by the faster and more sensitive RT/PCR assays. We developed a method for extraction of viral RNA from nematodes and a sensitive nested RT/PCR detection assay. The procedure has been adapted to microscale for handling multiple samples. This assay is effective for detection of ToRSV or TRSV in Xiphinema americanum or TRV in Paratrichodorus allius. With this method, viruses can be detected in nematodes fed on infected plants or from field collected nematodes where the percentage of viruliferous nematodes is unknown.