Characterisation of virus-related red tip disease in pineapple (Ananas comosus)
Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is one of the tropical fruits that is cultivated in Malaysia for export as well as domestic use. Unfortunately, the production is heavily affected by the red tip disease which was detected in the southern part of Malaysia 3 decades ago. Despite the identification of this disease, causal agent receives less attention from researchers. Nevertheless, symptoms associated with this infection and the mode of transference inside the plantations indicate viral-like disease. RNA extracted from the pineapple infected leaves introduced to Nicotiana tabacum cv. Coker by kneading the plant leaves to extract fresh sap. Yellowish necrosis was detected three weeks after artificial inoculation. The staining of the fresh diseased sample and inoculated Nicotiana tabacum cv. Coker showed the existence of round particles with an average diameter of 94.25nm under the transmission electron microscope. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed proteins bands similar to those of tospovirus at 25, 55 and 128 kDa. Further protein identification and validation suggested for molecular confirmation of the disease causative agent.