Arboretum Staff Demonstrate Virus Detection Kits at Annual Trade Show

The Arboretum’s Floral and Nursery Plants Research Unit highlighted and demonstrated easy-to-use virus detection kits at the annual Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) in the Baltimore Convention Center January 5 – 7. MANTS is the largest trade show on the East Coast and has over 900 exhibitors from throughout the United States.

The virus detection kits are designed to help growers select virus-free plants for propagation. Virus-free plants are typically more vigorous and of higher quality, benefiting both producers and consumers. The antibodies used in some of these kits were developed in the Unit and licensed for commercialization; these include one patented monoclonal antibody which detects almost all potyviruses, and monoclonal antibodies that detect and differentiate serotypes of cucumber mosaic virus.

Posters (see below) featuring the Arboretum’s breeding programs were also displayed, including one on current releases. An educational poster on Breeding Challenges discusses scientific breeding, which is more than just crossing plants. It involves the use of genetic principles and a directed strategy to create new gene combinations. The use of genetic technology in scientific breeding allows one to overcome many of the challenges in creating new gene combinations. A few of the challenges include: 1) creating hybrids between widely divergent species, sexually incompatible parents, or parents with different chromosome numbers; 2) obtaining progeny from sterile hybrids, plants with very small flowers, or plants with little pollen; and, 3) identifying genetically different seedlings from morphologically similar parents or with no visible traits like disease tolerance. The poster addresses how the breeders of the Research Unit have overcome some of these challenges to create and select superior plants for release to the industry.

For specific details about our research, please see the Scientists and their Specialties pages.  You can also click here to see a summary list some of our more recent accomplishments, or click here for recent research presentations.

Below please find images of the displayed posters. Click on any image for a larger version (which are 750x1000 pixels; file size ~150kb). The posters were developed by the ARS Information Staff, with images and input from Arboretum scientists.

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Last Updated   November 14, 2006 9:28 AM
URL = http://www.usna.usda.gov/Research/MANTS_posters.html