NEUTRALIZING MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES TO STRIPED JACK NERVOUS NECROSIS VIRUS (SJNNV)

Viral nervous necrosis (VNN) caused by a nodavirus (striped jack nervo us necrosis virus: SJNNV) is a serious problem in seed production proc ess of striped jack Pseudocaranx dentex in Japan. Mouse monoclonal ant ibodies (MAbs) to SJNNV were produced by using a homogenate of infecte d larval striped jack. Among 8 MAbs reacting with the homogenate of in fected larvae in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), three MAbs (SJ-102B, SJ-204D, SJ-207C) were proved to recognize the 42 kDa coat protein of SJNNV by Western blot analysis. An in vivo neutralization t est, where larval striped jack were exposed to purified SJNNV (100 ng/ ml) or the virus treated with MAbs (1 mg) and the resultant infection with SJNNV in larvae was monitored by ELISA using an anti-SJNNV rabbit serum, exhibited that two MAbs SJ-102B and SJ-204D have neutralizing activity against SJNNV.