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Etiology

An Unusual Viruslike Particle Associated with Golden Yellow Mosaic of Beans. Robert M. Goodman, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology and The International Soybean Program, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801; Julio Bird(2), and Pornpod Thongmeearkom(3). (2)Plant Pathologist, Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus, Rio Piedras, PR 00928; (3)Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801. Phytopathology 67:37-42. Accepted for publication 5 August 1976. Copyright © 1977 The American Phytopathological Society, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121. All rights reserved.. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-67-37.

The whitefly-transmitted pathogen that causes bean golden yellow mosaic disease in Puerto Rico was efficiently sap-transmitted to Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Top Crop’ or ‘Diablo’ by rubbing. Infectivity was associated with a viruslike nucleoprotein particle approximately 18 nm in diameter. Virus particles often occurred as aggregates in glutaraldehydefixed negatively stained preparations. Large amounts of phytoferritin also were present in extracts from infected plants. Phytoferritin in much smaller amounts, but not viruslike particles, was present in extracts of healthy plants. The nucleoprotein particles were separated from phytoferritin by rate-zonal sucrose density gradient centrifugation with the purified nucleoprotein particles showed symptoms typical of bean golden yellow mosaic disease and were used successfully in transmission trials with the whitefly vector, Bemisia tabaci.