Characteristics of a Cowpea Chlorotic Mottle Virus Isolate from Nigeria. G. Thottappilly, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Oyo Road, P. M. B. 5320, Ibadan, Nigeria, West Africa. O. P. Sehgal, and H. W. Rossel. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Oyo Road, P. M. B. 5320, Ibadan, Nigeria, West Africa. Plant Dis. 77:60-63. Accepted for publication 18 September 1992. Copyright 1993 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-77-0060.

Cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV, bromovirus group) was isolated from Desmodium heterocarpon and Clitoria ternatea plants growing in experimental plots at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria. It was identified by serology, particle morphology, pH sensitivity, and analyses of viral coat protein and nucleic acids. In reciprocal agar-gel diffusion tests, the CCMV-Nigerian isolate and the type CCMV strain were found to be serologically distinct. This is the first report of the occurrence of a virus resembling CCMV outside of the United States and Costa Rica.

Keyword(s): CCMV serotypes, coat protein, genomic RNAs.