Comparison of ELISA and RT-PCR assays for the detection of Tomato spotted wilt virus in peanut

Diagnosis of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) in peanut can be accomplished by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) but there has been no report of a direct comparison of the success of the two assays in evaluating infection rates of field-grown peanut. We collected peanut root samples from field-grown plants, 76 in 2006 and 48 in 2007, and tested these samples by both ELISA and RT-PCR assays for the presence of TSWV. Out of 124 samples, 50 (40.3%) and 57 (46.0%) were positive for TSWV by ELISA and RT-PCR respectively. In 13.7% of these samples, ELISA and RT-PCR differed in their results. However, Chi square analysis showed no significant difference between the results for these two assays. This result supports the conclusion that ELISA and RT-PCR are comparable for detecting TSWV infection rates in field-grown peanuts.