Articles
IDENTIFICATION OF VIRUS INFECTIONS IN DIEFFENBACHIA AND ZANTEDESCHIA IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA
There is also increasing demand for cut flowers of Zantedeschia aethiopica.
Therefore growers are interested in improving the health stage of these cultures.
Plants of Dieffenbachia with symptoms of stunting, deformed leaves and poor color clarity were collected in a nursery specialised for propagation of "green" pot plants.
Zantedeschia plants with symptoms of chlorotic vein banding were sent to the Institute by several commercial growers for identification of the disease.
The samples of Dieffenbachia and Zantedeschia leaves were examined by electron microscope.
Elongated and spherical particles were detected in both species.
For their further identification DAS-ELISA was applied using IgG and IgG conjugates to cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), a tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) from the Phytopathological Institute – Aschersleben, Germany and to bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) from the Bulb Research Centre – Lisse, The Netherlands.
Immunoelectron microscopy was used for detection of dasheen mosaic virus (DMV). The DMV antiserum was kindly supplied by A. A. Brunt, United Kingdom.
The results of ELISA and IEM were confirmed by inoculation onto herbaceous plants including seedlings of Anthurium, which is a good test plant for DMV. It reacted on DMV infection by mosaic and leaf deformation.
In Dieffenbachia we detected DMV, CMV, BYMV, TMV and ToMV.
In Zantedeschia we found DMV and CMV, besides particles resembling a carlavirus were observed.
This is the first report on dasheen mosaic virus in Czechoslovakia.