SEROLOGICAL REACTIVITY OF OKRA LEAF CURL DISEASE TO AFRICAN CASSAVA MOSAIC VIRUS (ACMV) AND TOMATO YELLOW LEAF CURL VIRUS (TYLCV) ANTISERA IN SUDAN SAVANNA ZONE OF NIGERIA

A survey was conducted in Maiduguri during the 2016 cropping season to identify the serotypes and distribution of Okra Leaf Curl Disease on okra plants to cover 30 major okra growing areas in Maiduguri. The confirmation of serotypes of the virus was done using African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV) antibodies obtained from Deutche Sammlang von Mikroorganism and Zeckulturan (DSMZ) Brauschweig, Germany. The reactivity of 30 different OLCV isolates after tests with antisera with TAS ELISA distinguished four serological profiles; those showed positive reaction with the two antisera were designated as serotype SRP A, the second serological profile included isolates that showed positive reaction with only TYLCV antisera, and were designated as serotypes SRP B, the third serological profile was isolate which showed positive reaction with only ACMV antisera and were designated as serotype C. The fourth serological profile included those isolates which had negative reaction with the two antisera (TYLCV and ACMV), and were designated as serotype SRP D. Based on the results of the study, various serotypes exists and begomovirus occurring on tomato and cassava in neighboring farms also infects okra in Maiduguri. Such information could eventually be utilized in the development of integrated begomovirus management packages in crop rotation, antibodies raised against the particles of three other geminiviruses: African cassava mosaic, Indian cassava mosaic and okra leaf curl viruses. Smaller differences in epitope profile were found among virus isolates from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) collected from different districts in Pakistan over a 5 ‐ year period. cross potential TYLCV ACMV by