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Title: ANTIBODY TO A SHORT PEPTIDE SEQUENCE DETECTED SUGARCANE YELLOW LEAF VIRUS ISOLATES FROM SEVERAL SOURCES

Author
item WANG, M-L - HARC
item SCHENCK, S - HARC
item Albert, Henrik

Submitted to: Sugar Cane International
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/18/2005
Publication Date: 6/20/2005
Citation: Wang, M., Schenck, S., Albert, H.H. 2005. Antibody to a short peptide sequence detected sugarcane yellow leaf virus isolates from several sources. Sugar Cane International. 23:25-27.

Interpretive Summary: problem: Sugarcane Yellow Leaf Virus (SCYLV) is an important pathogen of sugarcane but can be difficult to diagnose as symptoms are dependant on other stresses. An antiserum specific for the virus facilitates diagnosis and is an important tool for breeding resistant varieties and for basic research into the effect of viral infection on plant physiology. who did work: A collaborative effort between ARS and the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center result: Two capsid peptide sequences predicted to be antigenic, externally displayed, and common to all sequenced SCYLV isolates were synthesized and used to generate polyclonal antisera in rabbits. One antisera failed to react with infected tissues, but the other produced a highly specific reaction in infected sugarcane leaf sections from numerous geographic areas. impact: This antiserum will be very useful to sugarcane scientists, breeders and growers in the US and other sugarcane growing areas, as this antiserum successfully detects virus from all tested geographic isolates in a highly specific and sensitive manner.

Technical Abstract: Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) infects many sugarcane cultivars in sugarcane-growing areas around the world. Infected plants are often symptomless and diagnosis depends on PCR analysis or on one of several immunology techniques which require the use of a specific antibody. Although it has been done successfully, purification of SCYLV from infected plants is difficult because the virus is restricted to phloem cells and exists in low titre. Slight amounts of sugarcane proteins are likely to remain which may interfere with specificity of an antibody. Therefore, a project was undertaken that made use of published information on other luteovirus coat protein structures, estimates of possible antigenic epitopes, sequencing of the capsid protein gene from a Hawaiian isolate and testing of antibodies to them for detection and specificity to SCYLV. The result was the production of one antibody that had the desired activity and specificity to be used for diagnosis of various isolatesof SCYLV without interfering reactions to sugarcane tissue or to other related Luteoviruses or Poleroviruses.