ISHS Acta Horticulturae 234: VII International Symposium on Virus Diseases of Ornamental Plants
COMPLEMENTARY NUCLEIC ACIDS AND ANTIBODIES IN PLANT VIRUS DIAGNOSIS |
| Author: | R. Koenig |
| Abstract:
This paper discusses some basic considerations on the use of complementary nucleic acids and antibodies as specific probes in plant virus diagnosis, e.g. the production of probes; percentage of genetic information of the viral genomes recognized by the probes; proportion of the virus particle available for reacting with the probes; labelling of complementary nucleic acids; and detectability by means of complementary nucleic acids of viroids and viruses which may be unsuitable for serological detection. Experiences made in the author's laboratory on the use filter hybridization tests (dot blot and Northern blot hybridization tests) are also described. Complementary DNAs (cDNAs) proved to be especially valuable for differentiating closely related viruses and for analysing complex RNA patterns produced by extracts from virus-containing materials. Unexpected cDNA-binding was sometimes observed with heterologous viruses belonging to different taxonomic groups. The outcome of tests for estimating the degree of homology between the RNAs of different viruses depended on a number of parameters which are discussed. Taking these parameters into account we obtained hybridization results for the RNAs of five tombusviruses which suggest a similar order of sequence for the relationships among these viruses as previous serological tests did. | |
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