VIEW ARTICLE

Disease Detection and Losses

Serological Detection of Bean Pod Mottle Virus in Bean Leaf Beetles. S. A. Ghabrial, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546; F. J. Schultz, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546. Phytopathology 73:480-483. Accepted for publication 5 October 1982. Copyright 1983 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-73-480.

Purified bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) serially diluted with buffered saline or extracts from virus-free bean leaf beetles (Ceratoma trifurcata) could be detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at concentrations as low as 2.0 ng/ml. The virus was readily detected by ELISA in virus-containing beetles homogenized and diluted in buffered saline up to dilutions of 1:10,000- 1:40,000 (w/v). The ELISA of beetle extracts was highly reliable in predicting the incidence of BPMV in soybean fields in several locations in Kentucky. BPMV apparently accumulates in the beetles during acquisition feeding since the virus titer in the beetles was higher than that in the infected plants on which they have fed. Monitoring BPMV titer in viruliferous beetles following inoculation feeding, however, indicates a decline in virus titer during this period. Because of its sensitivity, reliability, and suitability for large-scale testing, the ELISA for BPMV in beetle extracts should provide a valuable tool for virus surveys and epidemiological studies on BPMV. In addition to detection of BPMV, the ELISA test with beetle extracts could be extended to include other beetle-vectored as well as stable-nonvectored soybean viruses.