Serological Detection and Evidence for Multiplication of Maize Mosaic Virus in the Planthopper,Peregrinus maidis

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Abstract
Maize mosaic virus (MMV) antigens were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in individual P. maidis after acquisition access periods (APP) on MMV-infected maize (Zea mays) and after injection with either purified MMV or with sap from MMV-infected maize. MMV antigens were not detected in similarly treated Dalbulus maidis or in P. maidis that were not exposed to MMV. Individual P. maidis tested for MMV antigens 20 days after APP or 7 days postinjection were 58 and 76% positive, respectively. The transmission efficiency of similarly treated insects was 42 and 85% for P. maidis that acquired MMV by plant acquisition or injection, respectively. In 2 experiments when individuals were compared for ability to transmit MMV and for the presence of MMV antigens, all transmitters were ELISA-positive. Not all of the ELISA-positive P. maidis, however, transmitted MMV. Injected P. maidis had shorter incubation periods (time between acquisition and transmission) and shorter periods between acquisition and ELISA detection than did P. maidis that acquired MMV by plant feeding. The concentration of injection inoculum was positively correlated with the percentage of ELISA-positive P. maidis, time beween injection and subsequent ELISA detection, and the intensity of serological reactions (antigen titer) for injected P. maidis. These data further suggest that MMV multiplies in P. maidis.