Detection of tobacco rattle virus in nematodes by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction

An assay, based on amplification of cDNA synthesized from genomic viral RNA, has been developed to detect tobacco rattle virus in infected plant material and viruliferous nematodes. A range of different TRV strains could be detected using the procedure developed. The presence of one to three viruliferous nematodes in a nematode suspension was sufficient for the detection of TRV. The minimum amount of purified virus detectable in the assay was 15 fg, indicating an increased sensitivity of the PCR-based assay as compared to serological detection methods, like ELISA. A dot-blot hybridization procedure was developed for the detection of the PCR products, making agarose gel electrophoresis dispensable.