NUCLEIC ACID HYBRIDIZATIONS AS A RADIOACTIVE TOOL FOR RAPID DETECTION OF BANANA BUNCHY TOP VIRUS

Abstract

Banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) caused by banana bunchy top virus (BBTV)
was radioactively detected by nucleic acid hybridization techniques. Results showed that,
32P-labelled insert of pBT338 was hybridized with nucleic acid extracts from BBTV-infected
plants from Egypt and Australia but not with those from CMV-infected plants from Egypt.
Results revealed that BBTV was greatly detected in midrib, roots, meristem, corm, leaves
and pseudostem respectively. BBTV was also detected in symptomless young plants
prepared from diseased plant materials grown under tissue culture conditions but was not
present in those performed from healthy plant materials. The sensitivity of dot blot and
Southern blot hybridizations for the detection of BBTV was also performed for the detection
of BBTV.