اولین گزارش ویروس پنهان زعفران (SaLV) از مزارع زعفران استان گلستان با آنتی سرم چند‌همسانه‌ای اختصاصی ویروس

Iran, providing nearly 90% of the world's total production of saffron, is the most significant red gold producer in the world. Potyvirus croci (saffron latent virus, SaLV) is the most prevalent virus in the saffron fields of Iran. SaLV infection causes quality reduction of the saffron crop. Nowaday, saffron is extensively cultivated in the most provinces of Iran, such as Northern provinces. More than 500 out of 680 ha of saffron cultivation areas in Golestan province (Northern province of Iran) is centered in Azadshahr (Vamenan and Sibchal regions), in 2023. Following SaLV coat protein (CP) gene expression in bacterial system and purification through chromatography, recombinant SaLV-CP was injected subcutaneously five times at two-week intervals to a New Zealand White rabbit. Blood was drawn two weeks after the last injection and the serum was separated by centrifugation and filtered through a 0.2 micron filter. During a survey carried out in saffron grown fields in Vamenan and Sibchal regions, a total of 25 saffron leaf tissue samples, showing reduced growth, yellowing and mild mosaic symptoms, were collected. The presence of SaLV was checked in collected samples by indirect-ELISA, using polyclonal SaLV specific raw antiserum and goat anti-rabbit secondary antibody (dilutions of 8000 and 30000, respectively). The absorbance values of 15 saffron samples at 405 nm was recorded as 1.2- 2.6, while the value of control (healthy plant) was as 0.26. Based on the results, 60% of collected saffron samples were SaLV- infected. This is the first report of SaLV infection in the saffron fields of Northern provinces of Iran. By extraction of SaLV-specific IgG, conjugate preparation and development of SaLV-specific detection through DAS-ELISA, the virus detection will be available to the public.