Purification, serology and physico‐chemical properties of a peanut mottle virus isolate from India*

A procedure developed for the purification of peanut mottle virus (PMV) isolated from peanuts in India yielded 30–40 mg of virus/kg of plant tissue. Purified virus sedimented as a single component of 151 S. The virus coat protein migrated as a single component in each of two polyacrylamide gel concentrations and had an estimated molecular weight of 34 000 daltons. The molecular weight of the nucleic acid was 3.10 × 10 6 daltons. In the precipitin ring interface test (PRIT) PMV showed a serological relationship with soybean mosaic virus (SMV). Using the double antibody sandwich form of ELISA, PMV was shown to be distantly related to adzuki bean mosaic (ABMV), amaranthus leaf mottle (ALMV), clover yellow vein (CYVV) viruses and SMV. Immunosorbent electron microscopy (ISEM) showed PMV to be closely related to ABMV, ALMV, CYVV and SMV. In PRIT, ELISA and ISEM tests no specific serological reaction was noted between PMV and antisera to groundnut eye spot, peanut green mosaic, pepper veinal mottle, potato virus Y, sugarcane mosaic and turnip mosaic viruses.