Characterization of an isolate of beet mosaic virus from South Kazakhstan

Abstract

A filamentous virus isolated from a sugar‐beet plant showing systemic mosaic collected in South Kazakhstan was identified as an isolate of beet mosaic virus (BMV‐K). BMV‐K was transmitted by the green peach aphid Myzus persicae in a non‐persistent manner, and by sap inoculation to 11 out of 19 species from seven families tested. The virus could not be transmitted to Nicotiana tabacum, N. debneyi, N. glutinosa and N. clevelandii, cither mechanically or with M. persicae. The thermal inactivation point of BMV‐K in sugar‐beet sap was 55‐60 C, dilution end point 1:1000 and longevity in vitro 2 days at 20 C. A purification procedure produced 1‐5‐3 mg of purified virus from 100 g of infected Stellaria media plants. Purified virus contained a single protein species of molecular weight 34 700 Da. In ELISA tests, BMV‐K reacted positively with BMV‐specifc antisera obtained from Japan. Germany and Portugal. By competitive DAS‐ ELISA, the virus isolate was shown to be closely serologically related to all the three isolates of BMV, and very distantly related to bean yellow mosaic and soy bean mosaic viruses.