Serological Methods for Detection of Pea Seed-Borne Mosaic Virus in Leaves and Seeds of Pisum sativum

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Abstract
Immunodiffusion in gels containing 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and serologically specific electron microscopy (SSEM) were evaluated for the detection of pea seed-borne mosaic virus (PSbMV) in pea tissues. The virus was detected readily by immunodiffusion of leaf homogenates from single infected plants but not in homogenates from composite samples containing < 25% PSbMV-infected leaves. In contrast, detection of PSbMV in composite samples of leaves containing 5-10% PSbMV-infected leaves was obtained using ELISA or SSEM. Each of these latter methods also detected the virus in homogenates of seed from a seedlot containing 25% infected seed; levels of 1% seed infection were detected consistently by SSEM. The application of these methods for the detection of PSbMV in breeding programs is discussed.