PRODUCTION OF MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES TO GRAPEVINE FLECK VIRUS

Two stable hybridoma cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies to gra pevine fleck virus (GFkV) were obtained by fusing spleen cells of immu nized BALB/c mice with mouse myeloma cell line NS0/1. With direct and indirect ELISA, both mAbs readily and specifically recognized the viru s in extracts from leaves, roots and cortex of infected Vitis spp., bu t did not decorate virus particles in immunoelectron microscopy tests. mAbs could be used both for coating plates (trapping) and antigen det ection in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests, yielding efficient and reproducible results for GFkV identification in field-grown vines.