Comparison of Tomato Bioassay and Slab Gel Electrophoresis for Detection of Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid in Potato

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Abstract
Potato [Solanum tuberosum] plants from a randomly selected set of 146 Cornell University [New York, USA] breeding lines were tested for the presence of potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV) by both polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and tomato bioassay. The electrophoretic assay was an adaptation of Morris and Smith''s procedure to a slab gel apparatus that permitted testing of 25 samples at once. Results of both tests were in agreement in 123 cases. In 23 cases, results of the original tests were not in agreement. When 20 were tested a 2nd time, results supported the original electrophoretic data in all but 1 case. Potato plants of 4 commercial cultivars [''Sebago'', ''Katahdin'', ''Kennebec'' and ''Russet Rural''] and 45 breeding lines representing diverse germ plasm were inoculated with mild or severe strains of PSTV. The electrophoretic assay accurately detected PSTV in the inoculated plants. Assay for PSTV by gel electrophoresis is more rapid and reliable than the tomato bioassay.

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