title: A polyclonal antiserum against a recombinant viral protein combines specificity with versatility.
abstract: A polyclonal rabbit antiserum was obtained to the nucleoprotein of tomato spotted wilt tospovirus expressed as a recombinant fusion protein in E. coli. In indirect plate trapping ELISA, the antiserum gave similar titres against purified TSWV nucleocapsids in native form, the fusion protein and the carrier protein. The crude antiserum was also tested by Western blotting, indirect plate trapping ELISA and immunogold electron microscopy of thin sections: purified immunoglobulins were tested by DAS-ELISA. In all cases, with both glasshouse and field material, the antibodies had good detectability and specificity. By ELISA and Western blots against other tospoviruses, impatiens necrotic spot and groundnut bud necrosis viruses did not react but there was a reaction with groundnut ringspot virus, reflecting the nucleoprotein amino acid sequence similarity. These antibodies combine specificity to the target protein and versatility with regard to all the more important serological techniques. There were no undesired reactions resulting from immunization using a complex virus purified from infected host material.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Fitovirologia Applicata, CNR, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Vaira
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vecchiati
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Masenga
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Accotto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007106:Immune Sera / Q000276:immunology; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D009698:Nucleoproteins / Q000276:immunology*; D011817:Rabbits; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017865:Tospovirus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007106:Immune Sera; D009698:Nucleoproteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014758:Viral Core Proteins