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Characterization of the most frequently isolated virus found during a survey of eastern Ontario red clover fields, which was designated as the Ottawa isolate, was undertaken. Determination of the biological and physico-chemical properties of the virus showed that the virus studied differed in some respects from other WCMV isolates. An ultrastructural examination of virus localization of cytopathological changes in infected red clover and pea plants revealed various types of viral inclusions, including a membrane-bound mass of tubules, not usually associated with infection by potexviruses, in red clover leaves, and severe organelle disorganization within pea leaf tissues. WCMV infection significantly reduced several processes relevant to symbiotic nitrogen fixation, including plant growth, nodulation, nitrogenase activity, leghemoglobin content, and Rhizobium population, but nitrate reductase and acid phosphatase specific activities were increased. The correlation between leghemoglobin content and nitrogenase activity shown at ten-leaf and pre-blooming stages was absent during the flowering and senescence stages. Infectivity assays, immunosorbent electron microscopy, and an ultrastructural examination showed the presence of the virus in nodular tissues; the cytopathological changes seen in bacteroids suggested that virus infection accelerated nodule senescence. Application of a cytochemical technique using diaminobenzidine showed that the leghemoglobin was located in the peribacteroidal space.