Characterization of Maize Streak Virus Isolates from Different Plant Species by Polyclonal and Monoclonal Antibodies

Summary Rabbit polyclonal antisera raised against six different isolates of maize streak virus (MSV) were used to determine the serological relationships among a range of MSV isolates from different plant species originating from various African countries and from Vanuatu. Their reactions indicated a great serological diversity among these isolates. Fifteen monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against a Nigerian maize isolate, MSV-M(N)M, were characterized according to their reactivity with the various MSV isolates in indirect ELISA. All the MAbs reacted with the virus both in an antigen-coated plate and in a double antibody sandwich ELISA. None of the MAbs reacted with all isolates, and some isolates most distantly related to MSV-M(N)M according to results obtained with polyclonal antisera were not recognized by any of the MAbs. Some isolates which were shown to be closely related using the polyclonal antisera could be distinguished by several of the MAbs. The results obtained both with the polyclonal antisera and the MAbs suggested that several of the isolates were a mixture of a number of different serotypes.