Physiochemical Characterization and Field Assessment of Lettuce Chlorosis Virus

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Lettuce chlorosis virus (LCV) was purified and partially characterized, and polyclonal antisera were produced and used to assess disease in the field. The antisera reliably detected LCV by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in Nicotiana benthamiana. In Western blots, the LCV antisera distinguished between LCV and lettuce infectious yellows virus (LIYV)-infected plants. LCV particle lengths in partially purified preparations, as observed by transmission electron microscopy, were variable, with the majority between 750 and 950 nm long. A single, high molecular weight dsRNA and several lower molecular weight dsRNAs were isolated from LCV-infected N. benthamiana. A single RNA isolated from purified virion preparations was estimated to be 8,625 nucleotides long and was suspected to be the genomic RNA of LCV. LCV was present in experimental field plots in Holtville, California, during the lettuce growing seasons of 1995 to 1997. The percentage of symptomatic plants and yield of lettuce heads treated with insecticide, as well as dsRNA and ELISA reactions for the plots, are reported. A dsRNA consistent in size with LCV was isolated from four weed species in the Imperial Valley of California.