IDENTIFICATION OF A 2ND DISTINCT STRAIN OF BEET MILD YELLOWING LUTEOVIRUS USING MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES AND TRANSMISSION STUDIES

The variation among isolates of beet mild yellowing luteovirus (BMYV), collected from commercial crops of sugar beet during 1990, 1992 and 1993, was studied using monoclonal antibodies and transmissions to indicator species. The common strain of BMYV, which occurs throughout the sugar-beet root growing area, reacts with monoclonal antibodies MAFF 24, BWYV-BC-51OH and BYDV-PAV-IL-1, and infects Capsella bursa-pastoris. A second strain, which failed to react with monoclonal antibody BYDV-PAV-IL-1 and which did not infect C. bursa-pastoris, was identified in 11% of sampled infected plants. The implications of the properties of this strain for the epidemiology of BMYV are discussed.