A large-scale serological characterisation of Plum pox virus (PPV) isolates
was carried out with 19 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), including the univer
sal MAb5B and the following strain-specific MAbs: AL (specific to PPV-M), 4
DG5 (specific to PPV-D), TUV and AC (specific to PPV-C), and EA24 (specific
to PPV-EA). The study involved 108 PPV isolates of different geographical
origin (Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany,
Greece, Italy, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and Yugos
lavia) and hosts (almond, apricot, peach, plum and cherry). The inter- and
intra-strain serological relationships of PPV isolates were evaluated by DA
SI-ELISA. High serological variability was detected, not only between strai
ns, but also among isolates of the same strain. Computer-assisted analysis
of serological data support the hypothesis of the existence of two distinct
subclusters, denoted PPV-M-1 and PPV-M-2, which seem to prevail in Mediter
ranean and Eastern-Central European countries, respectively.