Geminate Particles Associated with Cotton Leaf Crumple Disease in Arizona

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Abstract
Cotton leaf crumple (CLC) disease caused a major epidemic in Arizona cotton in 1981. The disease agent was transmitted by Bemisia tabaci and produced CLC symptoms in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). Cheeseweed (Malva parviflora) and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) were infected after exposure to the CLC agent in transmission tests with B. tabaci. Viruslike particles (VLP) (monomers 17-20 nm in diameter and dimers of .apprx. 17-20 .times. 30-32 nm) were detected by EM in partially purified preparations of CLC-affected bean plants but not in those of CLC-affected cotton, uninoculated bean or cotton or crude sap preparations made from CLC-affected bean or cotton. VLP in concentrated bean extracts resemble the monomeric and dimeric particles observed in extracts of plants infected by geminiviruses. Based on transmission, symptomatology, and characteristic particles in purified preparations, the CLC disease agent is similar to previously described geminiviruses.