MAPPING OF CROSS-REACTING AND SEROTYPE-SPECIFIC EPITOPES ON THE VP3 STRUCTURAL PROTEIN OF THE INFECTIOUS BURSAL DISEASE VIRUS (IBDV) - BRIEF REPORT

The binding sites of a panel of monoclonal antibodies cross-reacting w ith the structural protein VP3 of the two serotypes of the infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) could be mapped to four segments of the VP 3 gene. Two of these antigenic domains also carry epitopes which are s pecific for one serotype only. Formation of the common or type-specifi c epitopes is in agreement with homologous or mismatching amino acid s equences yielding hydrophilic segments on the VP3 polypeptide. These a ntigenic patterns obtained by immunoblotting could be verified by a co mpetitive ELISA.