Serological Identification of Four Tobamoviruses Infecting Pepper. C. Wetter, Professor, Department of Botany, University of Saarland, D 66-Saarbrücken, West Germany. Plant Dis. 68:597-599. Accepted for publication 30 January 1984. Copyright 1984 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-68-597.

Four tobamoviruses infecting cultivars of pepper were identified by immunodiffusion tests and host plant reactions. The white mosaic virus strain (ATCC PV 230) was identified as a strain of type tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). It was very similar in host reactions to the yellow strain of TMV from Nicotiana glauca (ATCC PV 223), which was also shown to be a strain of type TMV. The South Carolina mottling strain of TMV (ATCC PV 228) was identified as a strain of para-tobacco mosaic virus (PTMV ≡ strain U2 ≡ G-TAMV). McKinney’s latent strain of TMV from South Carolina (ATCC PV 227) was found to be very similar if not identical to the newly described pepper mild mottle virus (PMMV) from Sicily. Another virus sample from Italy contained PMMV and tomato mosaic virus (ToMV).