IMMUNOCHEMICAL IDENTIFICATION OF FUNGI USING POLYCLONAL ANTIBODIES RAISED IN RABBITS TO EXOANTIGENS FROM ASPERGILLUS-OCHRACEUS

Aspergillus ochraceus Wilhelm is a producer of highly toxic mycotoxin, ochratoxin A, and is known to contribute to the damage of grain on st orage. Rabbit antibodies were produced against the exoantigens of A. o chraceus, and ELISA and immunoblotting procedures were used to charact erize their reactivity towards fungal exoantigens of four Aspergillus, seven Penicillium, three Fusarium, one Mucor and one Alternaria speci es. The antibodies were specific for A. ochraceus and essentially cros s-reacted neither with other fungi nor with the water-soluble grain co mponents. These antibodies, therefore, have the potential of being uti lized for the discriminative monitoring of A. ochraceus in foodstuffs and feeds.