DETECTION OF TOBACCO RATTLE VIRUS BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION AND POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION

An assay involving reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction specifically detected tobacco rattle virus RNA in extracts of infected plants. It detected a wide range of serological variants and typical non-particle producing NM-type isolates. The sensitivity of the method was sufficient to detect TRV RNA in 10 ng total nucleic acid from an infected plant, or in a relatively crude nucleic acid preparation from 60 mug infected leaf tissue.