INFECTION OF THEOBROMA-CACAO USING CLONED DNA OF CACAO SWOLLEN SHOOT VIRUS AND PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT

A full-length, monomeric genomic clone of cacao swollen shoot badnavirus was infectious after particle bombardment of cacao seeds from which the testae had been removed. The infected plants showed symptoms typical of the severe form of cacao swollen shoot disease. Progeny virus from plants infected by bombardment reacted in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and dot blot hybridization and had small bacilliform particle morphology as observed by immunosorbent electron microscopy. Furthermore, the complex of symptoms that characterize cacao swollen shoot disease can be provoked by a single etiologic agent rather than by a mixture of different viruses or strains. The infectious clone offers new possibilities for the study of swollen shoot disease.