DIAGNOSIS OF STRAWBERRY VEIN BANDING VIRUS BY A NONRADIOACTIVE PROBE

A non-radioactive digoxigenin-labelled cDNA probe was prepared from ge nomic DNA of American isolate No. 45058 of strawberry vein banding vir us (SVBV). Five different air-dried SVBV-containing strawberry leaf sa mples originating from National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis , USA, reacted positively in dot blot hybridization with this probe. S ix of twelve strawberry samples from the Czech Republic exhibiting sym ptoms of SVBV - like infection gave positive reaction with this probe. Our results confirm the spread of SVBV in Central Europe and introduc e the first reliable screening method for this virus.