A carlavirus serologically closely related to Carnation latent virus in Slovenian garlic

Abstract

Three carlaviruses have been reported in garlic: Garlic common latent virus (GCLV), Shallot latent virus (SLV) and a virus closely related to Carnation latent virus (CLV), this last reported in Argentina. We found a carlavirus related to CLV (abbreviation CG) in two Slovenian varieties of garlic that reacted to the homologous titre in EM decoration tests with antisera to CLV but reacted less strongly with antiserum to GCLV. A CLV antiserum absorbed with isolate of GCLV still clearly differentiated between CG, CLV and GCLV. The virus could not be separated from GCLV by mechanical inoculation to differential test plants, but the GCLV/CG mixture gave only local lesions on Chenopodium quinoa and C. murale, and did not infect Nicotiana clevelandii whereas CLV from carnation systemically infects both plants. CG particles were present at a level of about 2 % compared with particles of GCLV and may have been overlooked by other investigators, especially as they react quite strongly with GCLV antiserum.