Some Properties of Cucumber Fruit Streak Virus

Abstract

AbstractAn isometric virus c. 30 nm in diameter with a single RNA species (mol.wt 1.45 × 106) isolated from cucumber plants from the island of Crete (Greece) is described under the name of cucumber fruit streak virus (CFSV). The most evident symptom on naturally infected plants consisted of longitudinal chlorotic streak of the fruits. In glasshouse, the virus was soil‐transmitted to C. sativus, and, mechanically, to a wide range of herbaceous hosts, most of which were infected only locally.Purified virus preparations sedimented as a single component with sedimentation coefficient of 132S. At equilibrium these preparations were homogeneous in CsCl gradients but formed two bands in Cs2SO4 gradients. Virus particles were stabilized by forces involving divalent cations, pH‐dependent bonds and salt links between protein and RNA. Although some of the properties of CFSV are similar to those of other small spherical viruses with single RNA species there are differences which do not allow for the assignment of the virus to any of established taxonomic group of plant viruses.