SERODIAGNOSIS OF PEPPER VENOUS MOTTLE VIRUS IN WEST-AFRICA USING SPECIFIC MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES IN DAS-ELISA

In order to develop a reliable diagnostic test for pepper veinal mottl e virus (PVMV), a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), raised to a N igerian isolate (PVMW-Ni), was evaluated by double-antibody sandwich e nzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) on infected pepper sample s from seven West African countries. PVMV from different geographical locations was serologically very homogeneous and no significant epitop e differences were detected even with a very sensitive double-mAb sand wich ELISA. This ELISA format was optimized with mAb 6C12 and its appl ication in a diagnostic test resulted in the identification of PVMV in Burkina Faso, Togo and Senegal where it had not been previously repor ted.