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Deterioration of Several Rod-Shaped Wheat Viruses Following Antibody Decoration. Willem G. Langenberg, Research plant pathologist, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583; Phytopathology 76:339-341. Accepted for publication 5 November 1985. Copyright 1986 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-76-339.

Soilborne wheat mosaic, barley stripe mosaic, and wheat spindle streak mosaic viruses disintegrated to varying degrees after decoration with homologous antibodies on electron microscope specimen grids. Wheat streak mosaic virus was stable to decoration. Disintegration of wheat spindle streak mosaic virus in antisera to barley yellow mosaic virus from West Germany and Japan, affirmed the close relationship of these two viruses. Goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G labeled with colloidal gold positively identified otherwise unrecognized virus-antibody complexes. Instability of virus in antisera can be used as a measure of relatedness in the wheat yellow mosaic virus group and possibly in other groups.