Detection of pea seedborne mosaic potyvirus by sequence specific enzymatic amplification.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect pea seedborne mosaic potyvirus (PSbMV) pathotype P1 RNA after reverse transcription of total nucleic acid preparations from pea (Pisum sativum) tissues. Tissues assayed for PSbMV included leaves, roots, petals, seed parts, and pollen. Three oligonucleotide primers in appropriate combination yielded two products of the predicted size: 730 and 1200 bp. The described methodology allows for rapid pathotype-specific PSbMV detection with utmost sensitivity and wide applicability.