University of Wisconsin Soybean Plant Health

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Techniques for Working with Soybean Viruses

Viruses are not detectable with the naked eye, or even a regular microscope. They can't be grown into visible colonies in the laboratory, like other plant pathogens.

However, there are techniques available that we use to detect and identify viruses in plant tissues. One technique is a sensitive plant bioassay, another uses specific antibodies to soybean viruses, and another involves copying virus RNA.

	Indicator Plants Some plants are predictably sensitive to a specific virus. This hypersensitivity is expressed as leaf symptoms shortly after exposure to the virus. The hypersensitive plants are called indicator plants, and are used as a bioassay to test for the presence of virus in an unknown sample. View a photo tour of the technique»
	ELISA - Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ELISA (Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay) is a standard, sensitive laboratory technique that detects trace amounts of plant virus in plant sap. General description Photo tour
	Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) The purpose of a PCR is to make a huge number of copies of a specific region of DNA or RNA. We use this sensitive technique to detect and identify plant RNA viruses. To learn about how PCR works, visit this link: What The Heck is PCR? and view this animation: RT-PCR Methodology.

Information from this site can be copied and distributed for educational use. Please credit the source with our name and URL: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Departments of Agronomy, Entomology, and Plant Pathology at www.plantpath.wisc.edu/soyhealth.