PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION OF MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES FOR THE DETECTION OF BEET MILD YELLOWING LUTEOVIRUS AND RELATED STRAINS

A sugar-beet-infecting isolate of beet mild yellowing luteovirus (BMYV ), and a Brassica-infecting isolate of beet western yellows luteovirus (BWYV) were used to produce monoclonal antibodies for epidemiological studies with BMYV and related field strains. Thirty-four monoclonal a ntibodies were tested for their reaction with 9 luteoviruses in triple - antibody-sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. One (MAFF24) is now routinely used in the UK for detecting BMYV and BWYV in plants an d aphids, although it does not discriminate between them. Heterologous reactions were detected between some of the monoclonal antibodies and potato leafroll virus (PLRV), bean leafroll virus (BLRV) and barley y ellow dwarf virus (BYDV-RPV). 38% of antibodies raised to BWYV reacted with PLRV compared with 4% of those raised to BMYV. Monoclonal antibo dies were produced which distinguished a sugar-beet-infecting isolate of BMYV with differing host range and serological properties from the commonly-occurring field strain.