Detection of plant viruses--biotechnological and molecular advances

Recent advances in biotechnology and molecular biology have played a significant role in development of rapid, specific and sensitive assays for detection of plant viruses. Production of monospecific polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibodies have enabled to group isolates of viruses and distinction of closely related strains. In cDNA hybridization applications, there is an increasing interest to employ non-radioactive probes for detection of nucleic acids. Detection limit of nucleic acid is remarkably comparable to those of radioactive labelled probes. Application of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has made it possible to amplify the low numbers of viral RNA/DNA molecules and their subsequent detection. Underlying principles, their advantages and disadvantages for application of monospecific polyclonal antibodies, hybridoma technology, molecular hybridization and PCR technology with reference to detection of plant viruses have been discussed in this review.