Fig mosaic disease (FMD) was systemically transmitted to susceptible fig plants by grafting and led to development of symptoms including a wide array of discoloration, green blisters, mottling, crinkling and deformation of leaves and fruits. A sensitive assay for the detection of FMV using specific enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was developed. A double-stranded RNA ca. 19 kbp in size was obtained from the fig tissue extract and used as a template. A cDNA fragment (350 bp) of phosphate motifs 1 and 2 of the heat shock-protein 70 homologue of the family Closteroviridae was amplified using a specific primer set. Virions were flexuous filaments up to 1,800 nm in length and ~21 nm in diameter. Viral infection formed new polypeptides in leaves that reflect pathogen-related proteins. Total photosynthetic pigment contents of virus-infected leaves
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