title: Use of a recombinant maedi-visna virus protein ELISA for the serologic diagnosis of lentivirus infections in small ruminants.
abstract: Highly purified recombinant gag and env proteins derived from Icelandic strain 1514 of maedi-visna virus were used in an indirect enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) to detect antibodies to small ruminant lentiviruses in sheep and goat sera. The recombinant protein-based ELISA performed very well relative to whole maedi-visna virus and whole caprine arthritis-encephalitis-virus-based ELISAs in its ability to detect anti-maedi visna virus and anti-caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus antibodies, despite the antigenic and genomic variability that is known to exist within and between these two small ruminant lentiviruses. The data suggest that these recombinant maedi-visna virus proteins can be reliably used in an ELISA for the routine serodiagnosis of lentiviral infections in sheep and goats.
authors.affiliation: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Retrovirology Centre of Expertise, Centre for Animal and Plant Health, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Canada. pasickj@em.agr.ca
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pasick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D006041:Goats; D011021:Pneumonia, Progressive Interstitial, of Sheep / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D016182:Visna / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D014790:Visna-maedi virus / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins