Abstract
BackgroundCitrus exocortis viroid (CEVd) is a circular single-stranded RNA pathogen consists of around 370 nucleotides and leads to a severe disease showing bark scaling symptom on citrus crops, which leads to yield decrease and economic loss. Since the absence of viroid-encoded proteins, methods for CEVd detection mainly counts on bioassays or nucleic acid-base approaches. In order to validate the CEVd disease, here we developed an integrated diagnostic protocol. MethodsCEVd transcripts were inoculated onto two susceptible cultivars of Solanum lycopersicum L., cv. Rutgers and cv. Double-Fortune, seedings. After inoculation, total RNAs of the two tomato cultivars were extracted to detect CEVd infection by dot blot hybridization, one-step reverse transcription PCR (one-step RT-PCR) and real-time reverse transcription PCR (real-time RT-PCR). In addition, the symptom development of both cultivars was recorded weekly. ResultsThe tomato cultivar Rutgers rather than Double-Fortune or others was selected as a suitable CEVd-indicator plant and the bio-index score was established based on epinasty, vein necrosis, leaf size reduction and stunting symptoms. In addition, the isolate of CEVd that collected from citrus field could rapidly and consistently cause the index symptoms on Rutgers. As expected, CEVd could be specifically and sensitively detected in both tomato and citrus plants by dot-blot hybridization and RT-PCR technologies, including one-step RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR. Furthermore, we found that the levels of CEVd genomic RNA or CEVd derived small RNAs are correlated to symptom severity. ConclusionsIn this study, we developed an integrated detection method for CEVd and revealed potential underlying viroid-host interactions.
Evaluation of the One-Step Multiplex Real-Time Reverse Transcription-PCR ProFlu-1 Assay for Detection of Influenza A and Influenza B Viruses and Respiratory Syncytial Viruses in Children
