A reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification of DNA (RT-LAMP) for detection of Potato virus Y (PVY) was developed. In this procedure, a set of four primers matching a total of six sequences of the coat protein (CP) gene of PVY were designed in such a way that a loop could be formed and elongated during DNA amplification. Using PVY CP complementary DNA clones as templates, the LAMP reaction was optimized by adjusting the concentrations of MgSO₄, dNTPs, and Bst DNA polymerase. The effects of fragment length of target DNA on LAMP also were investigated. Two-step and one-step RT-LAMPs were performed using RNA extracts of various PVY cultures, and the results were correlated with two-step reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detection of PVY. Further, the turbidity caused by precipitation of magnesium pyrophosphate formed in positive RT-LAMP reactions was used to measure the amplification by utilizing a time-saving spectrophotometric method. The one-step RT-LAMP-turbidity method gave results comparable with the two-step RT-PCR method for detection of PVY from potato leaf and tuber samples. Of the total 240 samples, 234 were diagnosed similarly by both methods.

Potato field isolates (Solanum tuberosum) of Potato virus Y (PVY) collected from the midwestern and western United States were characterized using serological, molecular, and biological assays. PVY field isolates were grouped into the previously defined categories: PVY^O, European PVY^NTN, North American PVY^NTN, and PVY^N:O recombinant and four previously undefined groups. Studies reported here agree with published reports from Europe and elsewhere in North America as PVY isolates capable of causing veinal necrosis in tobacco indicator plants appear in high frequency. In contrast to European experiences, PVY tuber necrosis isolates have a PVY^O coat protein rather than that of PVY^N. Several PVY^N:O recombinant isolates induced potato tuber necrotic ringspot disease (PTNRD) in the highly susceptible potato cv. Yukon Gold. The PTNRD symptoms produced by these PVY^N:O recombinants were atypical compared with lesions found on the same cultivar infected with either the European or North American PVY^NTN isolates. These PVY^N:O isolates produced a roughly circular, sunken necrotic lesion on the surface of the tuber instead of the typical external sunken ring pattern displayed by PVY^NTN isolates. This study establishes the complex nature of PVY populations within the U.S. potato industry and clearly demonstrates the diverse nature of PVY in the United States.

Previous studies have shown that plant hemoglobin (Hb) mRNA is expressed in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) aleurone layers during hypoxia. We have examined the effect of a number of respiratory inhibitors on barley aleurone layers to determine the factors that influence Hb gene expression. Respiratory inhibitors that reduce O2 consumption, such as CO, cyanide, and antimycin A, strongly enhanced Hb mRNA levels. Treatment with the oxidative phosphorylation uncoupler 2,4-dinitrophenol markedly increased O2 consumption and had a similar positive effect on Hb gene expression. Hb transcript levels were also stimulated by the ATP synthase inhibitor oligomycin. The results suggest that the expression of Hb is not directly influenced by O2 usage or availability but is influenced by the availability of ATP in the tissue.