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Etiology

Characterization and Geographical Distribution of a New Ilarvirus from Fragaria chiloensis. S. Spiegel, Department of Virology, The Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet-Dagan 50250, Israel; R. R. Martin(2), F. Leggett(3), M. ter Borg(4), and J. Postman(5). (2)(3)(4)Agriculture Canada Research Station, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1X2; (5)USDA-ARS, National Germplasm Repository, Corvallis, OR 97333. Phytopathology 83:991-995. Accepted for publication 16 June 1993. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1993. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-83-991.

A previously undescribed virus, a new member of the ilarvirus group, was isolated from wild Fragaria chiloensis plants collected in Chile and imported into the United States during 1990 and 1992. The virus, for which the name fragaria chiloensis ilarvirus (FCIV) is proposed, was detected during the postquarantine period in eight symptomless accessions collected in different locations in Chile. FCIV was transmitted mechanically to Chenopodium quinoa, C. amaranticolor, and Cucumis sativus but not to other herbaceous plants tested and was also transmitted through seeds collected from naturally infected F. chiloensis plants. FCIV particles, purified from inoculated C. quinoa, were quasi-isometric with a diameter of 21.4 nm, and bacilliform particles to 54.5 nm in length, containing a single polypeptide with relative molecular mass (M_t) of 28,000 and four RNA molecules of 3,700, 2,700, 2,600, and 1,200 bases, respectively. A polyclonal and a monoclonal antiserum to FCIV were produced. FCIV was related serologically to the ilarviruses asparagus virus II and lilac ring mottle in indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent but not in immunosorbent electron microscopy assays. Based on tests with F. chiloensis accessions collected in the wild in Chile and along the Pacific coast of the United States and Canada, FCIV seems to be geographically limited to Chile.