Biological and molecular characterization of lettuce mosaic virus from Tehran province in Iran

In this study, lettuce samples having LMV infection symptoms were collected from Tehran fields during 2003. Samples tested for LMV infection by immuno printing. Three positive samples in immuno printing collected and their characteristics were determined. In mechanical inoculation, these Isolates produced symptoms on Chenopodium quinoa, C. amaranticolor, Gomphrena globosa, Nicotiana benthamiana, Lactuca sativa cv. Mantilia and cv. Terocadero (which contains the mol1 resistance gene and susceptible respectively), but not cv. Salinas 88 (which contains the mol2 resistance gene). LMV was purified and LMV polyclonal antiserum was produced in rabbit by a series of intravenous and intramuscular injections, the precipitin titre of this antiserum was 1:1024. Gel double diffusion test (GDDT) was performed, and precipitin bands appeared. SDS-PAGE and western blotting showed the presence of coat protein 29 kDa. In IC-RT-PCR with on LMV specific primer pair, an approximately 1300 bp fragment was amplified.