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

An assay involving reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction specifically detected tobacco rattle virus RNA in extracts of infected plants. It detected a wide range of serological variants and typical non-particle producing NM-type isolates. The sensitivity of the method was sufficient to detect TRV RNA in 10 ng total nucleic acid from an infected plant, or in a relatively crude nucleic acid preparation from 60 micrograms infected leaf tissue.