Screening Peanut Germ Plasm Lines by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Seed Transmission of Peanut Mottle Virus. N. Bharathan, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Pantancheru P.O. 502324, Andhra Pradesh, India. D. V. R. Reddy, R. Rajeshwari, V. K. Murthy, and V. R. Rao, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Pantancheru P.O. 502324, Andhra Pradesh, India; and R. M. Lister, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907. Plant Dis. 68:757-758. Accepted for publication 30 April 1984. Copyright 1984 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-68-757.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was successfully employed for detecting peanut mottle virus (PMV) in peanut seed. Virus could be detected in extracts of infected cotyledons and embryos at dilutions of up to 1/3,600, although sensitivity was reduced when infected and healthy seed were mixed. PMV was detected in the testa of about 30% of infected seed. Complete correlation was observed among ELISA, infectivity assays, and growing-out tests for all four peanut cultivars tested. PMV was seed-transmitted in all but two—namely EC 76446 (292) and NC AC 17133 (RF)—of 283 peanut germ plasm lines screened.