Characterisation of a virus from tomato

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) material with mosaic symptoms was sent to the university by a local commercial glasshouse for examination. In order to determine the causative agent of any infection, a series of experiments was undertaken.

From initial analysis viral nucleic acid sequences were obtained by inoculating indicator plants with sap obtained from the diseased leaves, and it was shown that a nonmicrobial infectious agent was transmissible. Following this, it was found possible to extract viral nucleic acids from the inoculated plants, and the results suggested the possibility of a mixed infection by two pepino mosaic virus strains, as well as the presence of a possible Potyvirus. The rapid amplification of cDNA ends was the method used to attempt to obtain a full-length sequence of pepino mosaic virus. A partial sequence recovered corresponded to the genes encoding the Triple Gene Block and the coat protein of the viral genome. A rapid detection method using the dot blot technique was also explored and the results showed promise for future research in this area.