MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY FOR THE DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF A PHYTOPLASMA ASSOCIATED WITH RICE YELLOW DWARF

One stable hybridoma clone, 247B11, secreting specific monoclonal antibody (MA) against the mycoplasmalike organism (MLO), newly be termed phytoplasma, associated with rice yellow dwarf (RYD) was produced by employing an immunization scheme for inducing the immunological tolerance of mice to ria: antigens prior to the administration of RYD-phytoplasma immunogens. Neonatal BALB/c mice were first injected with nontarget rice antigens present in the immunogen preparation and were immunized intrasplenically with RYD-phytoplasma-enriched antigens prepared by Percoll density-gradient fraction 6 wk later. The MA was of the IgG1 class. With this MA, RYD-phytoplasma in diseased rice was specifically detected by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescent staining and tissue-blotting techniques. Antibody titer determined by indirect ELISA for hybridoma-culture supernatant was 5120. The antibody recognized two polypeptides, 16 kDa and 41 kDa, of RYD-phytoplasma determined by western blotting. RYD-phytoplasma was differentiated serologically from the phytoplasmas associated with sweetpotato, peanut, loofah, paulownia, and Ipomoea obscura witches' broom, aster yellows (NJ strain), elm yellows, and sugarcane white leaf both in indirect ELISA and immunofluorescent staining.