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Comparative Purification of Two Luteoviruses. Cleora J. D’Arcy, Assistant professor, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Illinois, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801; A. D. Hewings(2), P. A. Burnett(3), and H. Jedlinski(4). (2)Graduate student, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Illinois, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801; (3)Pathologist/breeder, CIMMYT, Londres 40-101, Apdo. 6-641, Mexico; (4)Research plant pathologist and associate professor, respectively, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Illinois, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801. Phytopathology 73:755-759. Accepted for publication 18 November 1982. Copyright 1983 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-73-755.

An Illinois vector-nonspecific isolate of barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) was purified from oats (Avena byzantina ‘Coast Black’) and a California isolate of beet western yellows virus (BWYV) was purified from shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). Root tissue yielded four times as much BYDV as shoots when ground to a very fine powder in liquid nitrogen with a mortar and pestle and homogenized in a blender prior to clarification. BYDV yields (E^0.1%_{260 nm} = 8) from roots harvested in March through October averaged 0.7 mg/kg, while in November through February yields averaged 4.4 mg/kg. Average yields of 1.1 mg/kg (E^0.1%_{260 nm} = 8) of BWYV were obtained when shoots were frozen in liquid nitrogen, powdered in a blender, and stirred for 24 hr at room temperature in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 6.0) with 0.5% sodium azide and 1.5% Rohament P, a macerating enzyme. The titer of BYDV peaked sharply in roots 10- 14 days after inoculation, whereas BWYV yields were consistently high from shoots harvested from 10 to more than 20 days after inoculation. Purified BYDV and BWYV had A_{260 280} ratios of 1.89 and 1.65, respectively.