ISHS Acta Horticulturae 177: IV International Symposium on Flower Bulbs
FOUR VIRUSES OF ALSTROEMERIA IN BRITAIN |
| Authors: | S. Phillips, A.A. Brunt |
| Abstract:
Four viruses were detected in alstroemeria plants in Britain. Tobacco rattle virus occurred in severely affected imported plants. An ilarvirus which has yet to be identified or characterised was isolated from field-grown ligtu hybrids in Essex; it had a wide experimental host range, infecting 18 of 21 species from 5 of 6 families, and was purified from systemically infected Chenopodium quinoa or Nicotiana clevelandii plants by differential centrifugation of Triton X-100 treated leaf extracts in neutral 0.5 M sodium citrate. A carlavirus detected in virtually symptomless alstroemerias showed a close serological relationship to lily symptomless and carnation latent viruses, but failed to infect mid-century hybrid lily, sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) or a range of herbaceous indicator species. It was purified from infected alstroemeria leaves by 2 cycles of differential centrifugation of phosphate-buffered leaf extracts following treatment with ether and carbon tetrachloride. A potyvirus, designated alstroemeria mosaic virus (AMV), was found in several alstroemeria cultivars with faint leaf chlorosis and occasional 'flower-break'. It infected 12 of 37 species from 3 of 10 families, but failed to infect narcissus or bulbous iris. AMV induced systemic chlorosis in N. clevelandii, from which it was purified by similar treatment to that of the carlavirus, and further purified by chromatography on controlled-pore glass beads (70 nm; 120–200 mesh). AMV has flexuous filamentous particles c. 750 nm long, which contain c. 5% ss-RNA and 95% protein (polypeptide mass 32 500), and have a sedimentation coefficient of 145 S. It induces conical or cylindrical cytoplasmic inclusions in infected plant cells and is serologically related to 3 viruses from narcissus and bulbous iris. | |
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