Glitoria yellow vein virus, a tymovirus from Kenya

Clitoria yellow vein virus (CYW) was found in Clitoria ternatea and Abrus precatorius in coastal districts of Kenya, but was not detected in food legume crops. When transmitted by inoculation of sap, CYW infected many species in the Papilionaceae, commonly causing yellowing of secondary and smaller leaf veins. All the economically important food legumes grown in the area of occurrence were very susceptible, so that CYW is potentially very important. The virus also infected okra (Hibiscus esculentus) and species in the Solanaceae, but none of many species of Cucurbitaceae. CYW is serologically closely related to cocoa yellow mosaic and kennedya yellow mottle viruses, and more distantly to okra mosaic and desmodium yellow mottle viruses. Other properties of CYW^ typical of the tymoviruses include particle morphology (particle diameter c. 28 nm; two components) with sedimentation coefficients of 50S (top) and 109S (bottom); molecular weight of protein sub-units c. 20000; thermal inactivation point c. 72 ^oC; and longevity in vitro c. 3 wk.