Detection of pecluviruses

Bragard, Claude [UCL] Doucet, Diane [CRA -W] Dieryck, Benjamin [UCL] Delfosse, Philippe [Centre de recherche public Gabriel Lippmann - Belvaux / Luxembourg]

Indian peanut clump virus (IPCV) and Peanut clump virus (PCV) cause significant losses in groundnut crops . IPCV and PCV infect also a wide range of dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous hosts. Virus infection often has few or no symptoms in other hosts, such as cereals and serological detection is hampered by the significant differences among the amino acid composition of pecluvirus coat proteins. The availability of non-serological sensitive and broad-spectrum detection methods is therefore essential for the epidemiological studies and for the management of peanut clump disease. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been developed for the detection of both IPCV and PCV. The chapter describes pecluviruses and the molecular diagnostic techniques proposed for their identification and characterization, from serological to polymerase-based methods. It shows that pecluviruses can be present in graminaceous hosts, even when no symptoms are apparent, and highlights the risks of spreading disease by seed and soil movements.