IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PEANUT STUNT CUCUMOVIRUS FROM NATURALLY INFECTED ALFALFA IN IRAN

A mechanically transmissible virus was isolated from a naturally infec ted alfalfa plant (Medicago sativa) in Karaj, Iran. It induced fern-le af symptoms in Lycopersicon esculentum, general chlorosis and stunting in Arachis hypogoea, local lesions and systemic infection in Chenopod ium quinoa, Phaseolus vulgaris and Vigna unguiculata but only local le sions in C. amaranticolor. In gel-immunodiffusion tests, it reacted st rongly with an antiserum to peanut stunt cucumovirus (PSV), moderately with two of six antisera to cucumber mosaic cucumovirus (CMV) and wit h two of five antisera to tomato aspermy cucumovirus. Its spherical T virions (28 nm in diameter) contained a coat protein of approximately 29 kDa and encapsidated four species of RNAs With Similar electrophore tic mobilities to RNAs 1-4 of CMV strains Fny and LS and those of PSV strains J and W. Ics encapsidated RNAs hybridized in slot-blot hybridi zation assay with the complementary DNA probe of PSV-W RNAs but not wi th those of CMV strains. Therefore, on the basis of biological, serolo gical and physico-biochemical properties, the virus was identified as PSV. No satellite RNA was associated with the virus. This is the first report of PSV in Iran.