Rapid simultaneous detection of two orchid viruses using LC- and/or MALDI-mass spectrometry

Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry are capable of providing molecular mass information on biological samples with high speed, accuracy and sensitivity. With mass spectrometry, identifying a virus based on the molecular weight of its coat protein is relatively simple and accurate. The technique can be applied to all viruses with known coat protein molecular weights. Using the LC/MS and/or MALDI, this paper describes rapid simultaneous detection of the two most prevalent orchid viruses, namely cymbidium mosaic potexvirus (CymMV) and odontoglossum ringspot tobamovirus (ORSV). The coat protein molecular weights of CymMV and ORSV were detected accurately using an extract from 1 g of virus-infected Oncidium orchid flower. Because LC/MS and MALDI allow automated analyses of multiple samples with simple preparation steps, both techniques are ideal for rapid identification of viruses from a large number of samples. This is the first report on the application of LC/MS and/or MALDI for simultaneous detection of two plant viruses from an infected plant extract.