AN ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOASSAY FOR THE LEVANSUCRASE OF ZYMOMONAS-MOBILIS USING SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES PRODUCED AGAINST THE CLONED ENZYME

Levansucrase gene (levU) of Z. mobilis had been cloned and overexpress ed in Escherichia coli (Song, K.-B. and Rhee, S.-K. (1994) Biotechnol. Lett. 16, 1305-1310). The levansucrase was purified and specific anti bodies against it were raised in rabbits. Specificity of the antibodie s was demonstrated by Western analysis. By using the antibodies, an ef ficient, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) amenable to immunoc hemical analysis of the levansucrase has been developed. The working r ange of levansucrase concentration in the developed ELISA was between 75 and 300 ng/ml. The assay was very sensitive to detect the levansucr ase as little as 37 ng/ml.