scholarly journals First Incidence of Plum Pox Virus on Apricot Trees in China

Plant Disease ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Navratil ◽  
D. Safarova ◽  
R. Karesova ◽  
K. Petrzik

Plum pox disease, caused by Plum pox virus (PPV), is the most severe virus disease of plums, apricots, and peaches. The disease causes heavy losses for fruit growers and the international trade of propagation materials and fresh fruits. PPV was first reported in Bulgaria in 1917 (1). It is now widespread in Europe and has been reported from Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Chile, the United States, and Canada. Leaves on symptomatic apricot trees (Prunus armeniaca cvs. Hong Mei and Bai Mei and a selected genotype) in the Hunan Province of China showed typical yellow rings and diffused chlorotic spots. Samples from three suspected trees were repeatedly analyzed using double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the summers of 2001-2003. PPV was detected in leaves, bark, and leaf buds of all three trees using ELISA with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies provided by M. Navratil, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic (3). The results were confirmed using RT-PCR amplification of a 243-bp of the coat protein gene with a PPV-specific primer pair (2). BLAST analysis of two RT-PCR product sequences (GenBank Accession Nos. AY750961 and AY795603) showed 100% homology to multiple sequences of the PPV-D strain (GenBank Accession Nos. X81080, AF440743, and AF401295). The third sequence (GenBank Accession No. AY795602) had a C at position 112 rather than the T found in the other sequences. The ELISA, RT-PCR, and sequence results indicate that PPV-D was present in the apricot trees. To our knowledge, this is the first indication of PPV occurrence in China. This sporadic incidence of PPV on apricot trees requires addressing problems with the occurrence and spread of plum pox diseases in China and starting an eradication program. References: (1) D. Atanasoff. Annu. Univ. Sofia Fac. Agron. et Sylvic. 11:49, 1932. (2) T. Candresse et al. Phytopathology. 88:198, 1998. (3) I. Hilgert et al. Hybridoma. 12:215, 1993.

Plant Disease ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Levy ◽  
V. Damsteegt ◽  
R. Welliver

Plum pox (Sharka) is the most important virus disease of Prunus in Europe and the Mediterranean region and is caused by Plum pox potyvirus (PPV). In September 1999, PPV-like symptoms were observed in peach fruit culls in a packinghouse in Pennsylvania. All symptomatic fruit originated from a single block of peach (P. persica cv. Encore) in Adams County. Trees in the block exhibited ring pattern symptoms on their leaves. A potyvirus was detected in symptomatic fruit using the Poty-Group enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test from Agdia (Elkhart, IN). Reactions for symptomatic peach fruit and leaves also were positive using triple-antibody sandwich ELISA with the PPV polyclonal antibody from Bioreba (Carrboro, NC) for coating, the Poty-Group monoclonal antibody (MAb; Agdia) as the intermediate antibody, and double-antibody sandwich ELISA with PPV detection kits from Sanofi (Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur, Marnes-La-Coquette, France) and Agdia and the REAL PPV kit (Durviz, Valencia, Spain) containing universal (5B) and strain typing (4DG5 and AL) PPV MAbs (1). PPV also was identified by immunocapture-reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (IC-RT-PCR) amplification and subsequent sequencing of the 220-bp 3′ noncoding region (2) (>99% sequence homology to PPV) and by IC-RT-PCR amplification of a 243-bp product in the coat protein (CP) gene (1). The virus was identified as PPV strain D based on serological typing with strainspecific MAbs and on PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism of the CP IC-RT-PCR product with Rsa1 and Alu1 (1). This is the first report of PPV in North America. References: (1) T. Candresse et al. Phytopathology 88:198, 1998. (2) L. Levy and A. Hadidi. EPPO Bull. 24:595, 1994.


Plant Disease ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 82 (12) ◽  
pp. 1405-1405 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Staniulis ◽  
J. Stankiene ◽  
K. Sasnauskas ◽  
A. Dargeviciute

Plum pox (sharka) disease caused by plum pox potyvirus (PPV) is considered the most important virus disease of stone fruit trees in Europe and the Mediterranean region. Nearly all those countries that produce stone fruits are affected (3). The causal virus of the disease is a European Plant Protection Organization A2 quarantine pathogen. Symptoms of leaf mottling, diffuse chlorotic spots, rings, and vein banding of varied intensity characteristic for plum pox virus infection were observed in the plum (Prunus domestica) orchard tree collection of the Lithuanian Institute of Horticulture in Babtai in 1996. Presence of this virus in the diseased trees was confirmed by double antibody sandwich-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) with kits from BIOREBA (Reinach, Switzerland) and by polyclonal antibodies raised against a Moldavian isolate of PPV courtesy of T. D. Verderevskaya (Institute of Horticulture, Kishinev, Moldova). ELISAs with both sources of antiserum were positive for presence of PPV. Electron microscopy revealed the presence of potyvirus-like particles averaging 770 nm in extracts of mechanically inoculated plants of Chenopodium foetidum (chlorotic LL [local lesions]) and Pisum sativum cvs. Rainiai and Citron (mottling). For molecular diagnosis and characterization of this isolate, PPV-971, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was employed. Total RNA from the leaves of infected pea was isolated as described (2). High molecular weight RNA selectively precipitated with 2 M lithium chloride was used for RT-PCR amplification of the coat protein encoding sequence by use of specific primers complementary to 5′ and 3′ parts of PPV coat protein L1 (GenBank accession no. X81081). Amino acid sequence comparison with GenBank data indicated 98.2% similarity with coat protein of PPV potyvirus isolated by E. Mais et al. (accession no. X81083) and 97.3% with PPV strain Rankovic (1).The specific DNA fragment, corresponding to predicted coat protein sequence size, was cloned into Escherichia coli pUC57 for DNA sequencing. Expression of the cloned sequence in bacteria and yeast expression systems is under investigation. The presence of PPV in plum trees in the 9-year-old collection at Babtai was confirmed by DAS-ELISA in 1997 and again in 1998. PPV was then detected in 20% of symptomatic trees of three cultivars. The Lithuanian PPV isolate reacted positively with “universal” Mab.5b and with a Mab (Mab.4DG5) specific for PPV-D. No reaction was observed with Mabs specific for PPV-M (Mab.AL), PPV-C (Mab.AC and Mab.TUV), and PPV-El Amar (Mab.EA24). PPV-971 seems to be a typical member of the less aggressive Dideron strain cluster of PPV (D. Boscia, personal communication). This is the first report of PPV in Lithuania and confirms the necessity for continuing the precautionary measures established in this country for indexing of nursery plum trees used for graft propagation. References: (1) S. Lain et al. Virus Res. 13:157, 1989. (2) J. Logemann et al. Anal. Biochem. 163:16, 1987. (3) M. Nemeth. OEPP/EPPO Bull. 24:525, 1994.


Plant Disease ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. D. Damsteegt ◽  
R. Scorza ◽  
A. L. Stone ◽  
W. L. Schneider ◽  
K. Webb ◽  
...  

Plum pox (Sharka) is a serious virus disease of stone fruits caused by the Plum pox virus (PPV). To determine which species could function as potential hosts and virus reservoirs, we used aphid transmission and bud or chip grafting to evaluate the susceptibility of commercial, ornamental, and wild Prunus species to isolates of PPV found in Pennsylvania, USA. Following inoculation, test trees were observed for symptoms, analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), back-assayed to healthy peach, and followed through at least four cold-induced dormancy (CID) cycles over 4 years. Thirty-one of 33 Prunus species and cultivars were systemically infected following aphid transmission. Systemic infection could not be detected in P. cerasus (sour cherry) and P. × ‘Snofozam’ (Snow Fountains) despite repeated aphid inoculation attempts. Following grafting of PPV-infected budwood, all 40 species and varieties became infected, although species differed in their susceptibility. Within most species, some individual plants remained PPV negative throughout the study despite repeated inoculations. Infection in some species could be detected only through quantitative reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. Most species displayed clear symptoms, were highly positive by ELISA and RT-PCR, and could be back-inoculated into peach seedlings following CID. Our results indicate that a wide range of native and ornamental Prunus species are susceptible to U.S. isolates of PPV-D.


Plant Disease ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (11) ◽  
pp. 1461-1461 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Soule ◽  
K. C. Eastwell ◽  
R. A. Naidu

Washington State is the largest producer of juice grapes (Vitis labruscana ‘Concord’ and Vitis labrusca ‘Niagara’) and ranks second in wine grape production in the United States. Grapevine leafroll disease (GLD) is the most wide spread and economically significant virus disease in wine grapes in the state. Previous studies (2) have shown that Grapevine leafroll associated virus-3 (GLRaV-3) is the predominant virus associated with GLD. However, little is known about the incidence and economic impact of GLD on juice and table grapes. Because typical GLD symptoms may not be obvious among these cultivars, the prevalence and economic impact of GLD in Concord and Niagara, the most widely planted cultivars in Washington State, has received little attention from the grape and nursery industries. During the 2005 growing season, 32 samples from three vineyards and one nursery of ‘Concord’ and three samples from one nursery of ‘Niagara’ were collected randomly. Petiole extracts were tested by single-tube reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR; 3) with primers LC 1 (5′-CGC TAG GGC TGT GGA AGT ATT-3′) and LC 2 (5′-GTT GTC CCG GGT ACC AGA TAT-3′), specific for the heat shock protein 70 homologue (Hsp70h gene) of GLRaV-3 (GenBank Accession No. AF037268). One ‘Niagara’ nursery sample and eleven ‘Concord’ samples from the three vineyards tested positive for GLRaV-3, producing a single band of the expected size of 546 bp. The ‘Niagara’ and six of the ‘Concord’ RT-PCR products were cloned in pCR2.1 (Invitrogen Corp, Carlsbad, CA) and the sequences (GenBank Accession Nos. DQ780885, DQ780886, DQ780887, DQ780888, DQ780889, DQ780890, and DQ780891) compared with the respective sequence of a New York isolate of GLRaV-3 (GenBank Accession No. AF037268). The analysis revealed that GLRaV-3 isolates from ‘Concord’ and ‘Niagara’ share nucleotide identities of 94 to 98% and amino acid identities and similarities of 97 to 98% with the Hsp70h gene homologue of the New York isolate of GLRaV-3. Additional testing by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) using antibodies specific to GLRaV-3 (BIOREBA AG, Reinach, Switzerland) further confirmed these results in the ‘Niagara’ and two of the ‘Concord’ isolates. GLRaV-3 has previously been reported in labrusca cvs. Concord and Niagara in western New York (4) and Canada (1), but to our knowledge, this is the first report of GLRaV-3 in American grapevine species in the Pacific Northwest. Because wine and juice grapes are widely grown in proximity to each other in Washington State and grape mealybug (Pseudococcus maritimus), the putative vector of GLRaV-3, is present in the state vineyards, further studies will focus on the role of American grapevine species in the epidemiology of GLD. References: (1) D. J. MacKenzie et al. Plant Dis. 80:955, 1996. (2) R. R. Martin et al. Plant Dis. 89:763, 2005. (3) A. Rowhani et al. ICGV, Extended Abstracts, 13:148, 2000. (4) W. F. Wilcox et al. Plant Dis. 82:1062, 1998.


Plant Disease ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 86 (12) ◽  
pp. 1402-1402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Freitas-Astúa ◽  
Lisela Moreira ◽  
Carmen Rivera ◽  
Carlos M. Rodríguez ◽  
Elliot W. Kitajima

Orchid fleck virus (OFV), a tentative member of the family Rhabdoviridae, infects orchids in several countries. The virus is vectored worldwide by the mite Brevipalpus californicus (Banks) (Acari: Tenuipalpidae). Eleven plants of Oncidium spp. and one plant each of the genera Cymbidium and Maxillaria exhibiting numerous yellow flecks and necrotic ringspot lesions on leaves were collected in two private orchid collections in Costa Rica. Presence of OFV was assessed by plate-trapped antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PTA-ELISA) using an antiserum developed against an OFV isolate in Japan (2), analyses of ultrathin sections of the host cell with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification using specific primers for the viral nucleocapsid gene (1). Eight of eleven Oncidium samples, and both Cymbidium and Maxillaria samples tested positive for OFV with PTA-ELISA having A405 values ranging from 3.9 to 14.6 times higher than negative controls. Thin sections from individual samples of Cymbidium, Oncidium, and Maxillaria revealed electron-lucent intranuclear viroplasm and short, rodlike particles (40 to 50 × 100 nm) in the nucleus or cytoplasm typical of OFV-infected cells. RT-PCR amplifications from one sample of each genera resulted in PCR-product bands of approximately 800 bp. The Cymbidium RT-PCR product was cloned into a pGEM-T-Easy expression vector and sequenced using an ABI 3700 sequencer. The 619-bp nucleocapsid gene consensus sequence had 98% homology with the OFV isolate 0023 identified in Germany (GenBank Accession No. AF343870) (1). However, it had only approximately 85% nucleocapsid gene homology with other OFV isolates available through GenBank, including those from countries geographically closer to Costa Rica, such as Brazil (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of OFV infecting orchids in Costa Rica. References: (1) A. L. Blanchfield et al. J. Phytopathol. 149:713, 2001. (2) H. Kondo et al. Bull. Res. Inst. Bioresour. Okayama Univ. 4:149, 1996.


Plant Disease ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (8) ◽  
pp. 1108-1108 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Kollerová ◽  
S. Nováková ◽  
Z. Šubr ◽  
M. Glasa

Sharka, caused by Plum pox virus (PPV), is the most detrimental viral disease of stone fruit trees. First reported from Bulgaria in 1917, the virus is now widespread in Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, and Asia Minor and is sporadically present in North and South America. On the basis of molecular and serological properties, six PPV subgroups are recognized, from which PPV-D, PPV-M, and PPV-Rec are the most common (1,2). Several apricot trees (Prunus armeniaca) showing mild, pale green rings and diffuse chlorotic spots on leaves were found in a small orchard in the Baltistan District in northern Pakistan at approximately 2,400 m above sea level. Dried leaf samples from one symptomatic tree randomly selected from the orchard were positive for PPV using double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with antisera prepared in the laboratory, immunoblot analysis, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) targeting the capsid protein (CP) gene using standard procedures (1). To check the subgroup affiliation and evaluate the molecular variability, the 562-bp variable region spanning the C-terminus of NIb and the N-terminus of the CP was amplified, the RT-PCR product was cloned into the pGEM-T Easy vector (Promega, Madison, WI), and positive clones were analyzed by restriction and sequence analyses. Interestingly, sequence analysis of four clones revealed mixed infection, i.e., the presence of two different PPV isolates in the apricot sample. One isolate belonged to PPV-D (GenBank Accession No. DQ422147) and the other belonged to the PPV-Rec subgroup (GenBank Accession No. DQ422148). Multiple alignment of the sequenced genome portion of the Pakistan PPV-D isolate indicated 96 to 99% nt identity with various PPV-D isolates without unique, clear-cut differences. Similarly, the PPV-Rec isolate had 98 to 99% identity with European PPV-Rec isolates and retained the cross-over at nucleotide position 8450 in the 3′ terminus of NIb. This sequence had the amino acid signature at the N-terminus of the CP typical of the PPV-Rec subgroup (2). Moreover, no particular clustering of the Pakistan isolates within PPV-D and PPV-Rec could be observed after phylogenetic analysis. The DAG motif, essential for aphid transmission, was present in both sequences. To our knowledge, this is the first indication of PPV occurrence in Pakistan and first identification of the PPV-Rec isolate outside Europe. Together with previous reports on the PPV presence in China and Kazakhstan (3,4), this report indicates the need for more detailed epidemiological studies focusing the PPV spread and its molecular diversity in Asia. References: (1) T. Candresse et al. Phytopathology 88:198, 1998. (2) M. Glasa et al. J. Gen. Virol. 85:2671, 2004. (3) M. Navrátil et al. Plant Dis. 89:338, 2005. (4) S. Spiegel et al. Plant Dis. 88:973, 2004.


Plant Disease ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Huang

Bacterial leaf scorch caused by Xylella fastidiosa has been reported in 17 species of oak including bur, pin, red, scarlet, shingle, and white oaks (3). In September 2002, a leaf scorch symptom characterized by marginal necrosis of leaves bordered by a darker brown band was observed in a mature black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.) at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The leaf petiole of the black oak was processed in general extraction buffer (Agdia, Inc., Elkhart, IN) contained in a FastDNA lysing matrix tube using the FastPrep FP120 instrument (Qbiogene, Inc., Carlsbad, CA) (1). The leaf petiole extract reacted with an antiserum specific for X. fastidiosa (Agadia, Inc.) in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A slow-growing bacterium was cultured from leaf petioles of the affected black oak tree by soaking the surface-sterilized, finely cut leaf petioles in sterile water for 30 min, followed by spreading the bacterial suspension on periwinkle wilt plates (1). When the cultured bacterium was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with primers specific for X. fastidiosa (2), a 472-bp PCR product was detected. The PCR product was confirmed to be the predicted X. fastidiosa product by sequencing and sequence comparison with the reported genomic sequence of X. fastidiosa. ELISA and bacterial isolation from leaf petioles of a nearby symptomless white oak (Q. alba L.) tree were negative. To our knowledge, this is the first report of X. fastidiosa associated with leaf scorch in black oak in the United States, expanding the host range of the bacterium in economically important landscape tree species. References: (1) Q. Huang and J. L. Sherald. Curr. Microbiol. 48:73, 2004. (2) M. R. Pooler and J. S. Hartung. Curr. Microbiol. 31:377, 1995. (3) J. L. Sherald. Xylella fastidiosa, A bacterial pathogen of landscape trees. Page 191 in: Shade Tree Wilt Diseases, C. L. Ash, ed. The American Phytopathological Society, 2001.


Plant Disease ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 528-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Maroon-Lango ◽  
J. Hammond ◽  
S. Warnke ◽  
R. Li ◽  
R. Mock

Initial reports of the presence of Lolium latent virus (LLV) in Lolium perenne L. and L. multiflorum Lam. breeding clones in Germany, the Netherlands, France (2), and recently the United Kingdom (3,4; described as Ryegrass latent virus prior to identification as LLV) prompted us to evaluate clonally propagated Lolium plants from the United States. Four genetically distinct plants (viz., MF22, MF48, MF125, and MF132) that have been maintained clonally for 5 years from a Lolium perenne × L. multiflorum hybrid population established in the United States exhibited either no symptoms or mild chlorotic flecking that coalesced to form chlorotic to necrotic streaking on the leaves. All four clonal plants tested positive using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with the Potexvirus group PCR test (Agdia, Inc., Elkhart, IN), whereas all clones but MF48 tested positive using the Potyvirus group PCR test (Agdia, Inc.). No amplicons were obtained when the same plants were tested for tobamovirus, carlavirus, and closterovirus using appropriate virus group-specific primers. Cloning and sequencing of the potexviral amplicons revealed very high sequence identity with the comparable region of LLV-UK (GenBank Accession No. DQ333886), whereas those of the potyviral amplicons (GenBank Accession Nos. DQ355837 and DQ355838) were nearly identical with the comparable region of Ryegrass mosaic virus (RGMV), a rymovirus first reported from the United States in 1957 (1). Using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), extracts from all four Lolium clonal propagations tested positive for LLV using the antiserum raised to LLV-Germany (courtesy of Dr. Huth), whereas the potyvirus-positive results from RT-PCR of the three clones were confirmed using indirect ELISA with the broad spectrum potyvirus monoclonal antibody, PTY-1. LLV from singly or dually infected Lolium clones was transmitted to Nicotiana benthamiana Domin. but not to N. tabacum L. by mechanical inoculation. LLV was purified from infected N. benthamiana. Similar sized flexuous rods were observed using electron microscopy in leaf dip samples from Lolium clones and aliquots of the virions purified from N. benthamiana. References: (1) G. W. Bruehl et al. Phytopathology 47:517, 1957. (2) W. Huth et al. Agronomie 15:508, 1995. (3) R. Li et al. Asian Conf. Plant Pathol. 2:89, 2005. (4) C. Maroon-Lango et al. Int. Congr. Virol. 13:63, 2005.


Plant Disease ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 833-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Baker ◽  
L. Breman ◽  
L. Jones

In the fall of 1998, the Division of Plant Industry (DPI) received vegetative propagations of Scutellaria longifolia (skullcap) with symptoms of foliar mosaic, chlorotic/necrotic ringspots, and wavy line patterns from a nursery in Manatee County. Flexuous particles approximately 500 nm long were found with electron microscopy. The plants tested positive for Papaya mosaic virus (PaMV) in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test with antiserum to PaMV (Agdia, Elkhart, IN). However, in immunodiffusion tests (antiserum from D. Purcifull, University of Florida), this virus gave a reaction of partial identity indicating it was related but not identical to PaMV (1). The original infected plants were kept in a greenhouse. In January 2005, a specimen of Crossandra infundibuliformis (firecracker plant) with mosaic symptoms was submitted to the DPI from a nursery in Alachua County. Inclusions found with light microscopy and particles found with electron microscopy indicated that this plant was infected with a potexvirus. This was confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with primers designed to detect members of the virus family Potexviridae (3). These plants reacted positive to PaMV antiserum in ELISA and gave a reaction of partial identity to PaMV in immunodiffusion. A specimen of Portulaca grandiflora (moss rose) with distorted leaves found at a local retail store was also tested and gave the same results. Leaves from each of the three plant species were rubbed onto a set of indicator plants using Carborundum and potassium phosphate buffer. Total RNA was extracted from symptomatic indicator plants of Nicotiana benthamiana. RT-PCR (3) was performed, and PCR products were sequenced directly. Sequences of approximately 700 bp were obtained for all three plant species and showed 98% identity with each other. BLAST search results showed that these sequences were 93% identical to an Alternanthera mosaic virus (AltMV) sequence at the nucleotide level but only 76% identical to PaMV. The amino acid sequences were 98 and 82% identical to AltMV and PaMV, respectively. The PCR products of the virus from Scutellaria sp. were cloned, resequenced, and the sequence was entered into the GenBank (Accession No. DQ393785). The bioassay results matched those found for AltMV in Australia (2) and the northeastern United States (4), except that the Florida viruses infected Datura stramonium and Digitalis purpurea (foxglove). The virus associated with the symptoms of these three plants appears to be AltMV and not PaMV. AltMV has been found in ornamental plants in Australia, Italy, and the United States (Pennsylvania, Maryland, and now Florida). Since this virus is known to infect several plants asymptomatically and can be easily confused with PaMV serologically, it is likely that the distribution of this virus is much wider than is known at this time. References: (1) L. L. Breman. Plant Pathology Circular No. 396. Fla. Dept. Agric. Consum. Serv. DPI, 1999. (2) A. D. W. Geering and J. E. Thomas. Arch Virol 144:577, 1999. (3) A. Gibbs et al. J Virol Methods 74:67, 1998. (4) J. Hammond et al. Arch Virol. 151:477, 2006.


1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 83-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Schwab ◽  
F. H. Neill ◽  
M. K. Estes ◽  
R. L. Atmar

Current methods for the detection of nucleic acid from enteric viruses in environmental samples usually involve extensive concentration and purification of target viruses followed by RT-PCR amplification using two enzymes, reverse transcriptase and Taq polymerase. We have developed a modified method that improves RT-PCR assays by: (i) the use of an RT-PCR internal standard control RNA to identify potential false negative results caused by inhibition of RT-PCR enzymes; (ii) the use of rTth (Perkin-Elmer, Foster City, CA), a heat-stable enzyme that functions as both a reverse transcriptase and DNA polymerase in a single-tube, single-buffer, elevated-temperature reaction; and (iii) the use of thermolabile uracil N-glycosylase (HK-UNG) (Epicentre Technologies, Madison, WI) to prevent PCR product carryover contamination. The new method was compared to the traditional two-enzyme, RT-PCR method for detection of Norwalk virus (NV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) in buffer, stool, clam and oyster samples. The new method was at least as sensitive in NV and HAV detection compared to the traditional two-enzyme method. The internal standard control successfully detected inhibitors to RT-PCR amplification. NV and HAV PCR products generated with dUTP replacing dTTP during amplification were seeded into subsequent samples to test the prevention of PCR product carryover contamination by HK-UNG. The new method successfully eliminated PCR product carryover contamination in contrast to the traditional two-enzyme method. These improvements to viral nucleic acid detection have the potential to improve sensitivity, specificity and confidence in RT-PCR results.


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