Chapter 16 - Recent developments in detection and diagnosis of plant viruses

Abstract

Plant virus diseases are one of the major constraints to the global agriculture industry. Early and accurate detection and diagnosis of plant viruses, both in plants and carrier vectors, play a critical role in reducing disease spread and developing effective management strategies. Conventional diagnostic techniques based on biological and physical properties related to interaction of the virus with its host and/or vector and to its size and shape (e.g., symptoms, electron microscopy) are time-consuming, cumbersome, and not feasible for large-scale testing. For the last four decades, detection tests based on virus protein (e.g., enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays [ELISAs]) have been widely used for routine and large-scale testing of plant viruses. Nucleic acid-based methods (e.g., nucleic acid hybridization, polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) provide greater flexibility, and increased sensitivity and specificity than the serological methods for rapid and reliable diagnosis of plant virus diseases. In this chapter, recent developments in the area of plant virus detection and diagnosis, which include the techniques that can be performed in the field (e.g., lateral flow immunoassay), methods to detect many viruses in a single test (e.g., multiplex-PCR), and cutting edge technologies suited for the discovery of newly emerging plant viruses (e.g., next-generation sequencing [NGS]), are discussed. These diagnostic methods are useful in plant virus disease management strategies, characterization studies, disease surveillance surveys, epidemiological studies, plant quarantine, germplasm screening, seed certification, and breeding programs, thereby playing a key role in global crop protection and maintaining sustainable agriculture.