Electrophoretic Separation of a Severe From Mild Strains of Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid

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Abstract
When nucleic acid extracts from leaves infected with various strains of potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV) were electrophoresed by Return-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (R-PAGE), viroid RNA migrated more slowly than other nucleic acids in the extract. Electrophoretic mobility of viroid bands from samples containing a severe strain (S-PSTV) was 3-4 mm slower in the return direction than those containing mild strains (M-PSTV). Mixed preparations of severe and various mild strains separated into well-defined bands, which verified the differential migration of S-PSTV from M-PSTV strains. The origin of extracts from different organs of the potato (sprout, tuber, stolon, and leaf) or different plant species (tomato, potato, and Scopolia sinensis) did ont affect the migration pattern of viroid strains. This method, if verified with more severe isolates, may enable separation and identification of mild and severe strains of PSTV within a few hours, as compared with several weeks required for the standard biological cross-protection test.