Biolistic inoculation of gladiolus with cucumber mosaic cucumovirus

A new method of inoculation of gladiolus with cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was developed using the Bio-Rad Helios Gene Gun System. This method circumvents the traditional use of aphids to transmit CMV, a virus that is mechanically transmissible to many plant species but only with difficulty to gladiolus. Cartridges containing virus-coated gold microcarriers were prepared and the virus shot into Nicotianabenthamiana leaves and gladiolus corms and cormels. The biolistic procedure successfully transmitted three CMV isolates, two from serogroup I and one from serogroup II. Survival rates of two cultivars of gladiolus cormels and corms in sterile and non-sterile environments were compared. Infection rates of 100% were obtained when as little as 2 μg of virus was used in cartridge preparation. CMV remained viable after the cartridges were stored for many months at 4 °C.