A virus was isolated from trumpet narcissus showing symptom of mosaic and brown spots, collected in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1967. The virus was readily transmitted by juice inoculation, but not by Myzus persicae. Among the tested plants of 49 species in 14 families, 37 species in 14 families, namely, Chenopodiaceae, Amaranthaceae, Aizoaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Cruciferae, Leguminosae, Malvaceae, Umbelliferae, Solanaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Compositae, Liliaceae and Amaryllidaceae, were found susceptible to the virus by juice inoculation. Of these plants, Chenopodium amaranticolor, NewZealand spinach and bean were considered to be useful as differential host plants for the virus. The virus was proved to be transmitted through seed of chickweed and soybean. But the virus was not transmitted by Longidorus martini (nematode).
The virus in vitro withstood heating at 60C for 10 minutes, but not 65C, and 14 days of storage at 20C, but not 21 days. The virus particles were found to be spherical about 25nm in diameter.
Antiserm prepared by injection to rabbit showed homologous precipitin tube titre of 1/512. By agar gel diffusion tests, the virus showed negative reaction to antisera against arabis mosaic virus supplied by Dr. B.D. Harrison and against tobacco ringspot virus and tomato ringspot virus supplied by Dr. R. Stace-Smith. The antiserum against the tomato black ring virus supplied by Dr. B.D. Harrison only gave positive result. The virus and the antiserum were furthermore sent to Dr. B.D. Harrison, and the above results were confirmed, along with an additional negative results with antisera against cherry leaf roll virus, raspberry ringspot virus and strawberry latent ringspot virus. Furthemore, the virus is more closely related to beet ringspot strain than to potato bouquet strain of tomato black ring virus.
From these results, the virus was identified as beet ringspot strain of tomato black ring virus, which has not been reported before in Japan.