Identification of a Cucumber Mosaic Virus Strain from Naturally Infected Peanuts in China. Zeyong Xu, Visiting Plant Pathologist, Department of Plant Pathology and Physiology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631. O. W. Barnett, Professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Physiology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631. Plant Dis. 68:386-389. Accepted for publication 10 November 1983. Copyright 1984 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-68-386.

A virus isolated from an infected peanut seedling grown from seed collected in Jing County, Liaoning Province, China, was identified as a strain of cucumber mosaic virus, designated CMVCA, on the basis of biological, physical, and chemical properties, serology, and particle morphology. This strain infected 31 of 36 species tested in six families. The longevity in vitro was 6–7 days, the thermal inactivation point was 55–60 C, and the dilution end point was 10^–2–10^–3. The aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae transmitted the virus in a nonpersistent manner. Seed transmission in peanut was about 1.3%. Virus particles were spherical (28.7 nm in diameter). An antiserum against CMV-CA was produced with titers of 1/256 and 1/64 in microprecipitin and gel diffusion tests, respectively. Serologically, CMV-CA was indistinguishable from CMV-D and distinct from CMV-S. There was a more distant serological relationship between CMV-CA and tomato aspermy virus but no serological relationship between CMV-CA and peanut stunt virus strains E, W, or T. The S_20,w value of the particle and molecular weights of CMV-CA coat protein and of the four RNAs agreed with reported values for CMV.