Viral inclusion bodies can be seen using the light microscope and can be used for disease diagnosis.
A cooperative project of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Plant Pathology Department, Florida Extension Plant Disease Clinic and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, Bureau of Entomology, Nematology and Plant Pathology.
Viruses are among the smallest entities that cause diseases. Because they are so small, viruses can only be seen when magnified thousands of times using an electron microscope. However, many viruses are known to make aggregates of either virus particles or viral proteins. These aggregates, called viral inclusion bodies, can be seen using the light microscope and can be used for disease diagnosis.
The purposes of this website are to introduce the techniques used to stain plant virus inclusion bodies and to show how the light microscope can be used in the diagnosis of a virus infection in plants. The examples of viral inclusions in these web pages are all from viruses that have been found in Florida.
