Development of a monoclonal antibody specific to yellow head virus (YHV) from Penaeus monodon

A monoclonal antibody specific to yellow head virus (YHV) was produced from a mouse immunized with gill extracts prepared from laboratory-reared Penae us monodon dually infected with YHV and white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). O ne clone designated V3-2B specifically bound to native and SDS-treated vira l specific antigens. Immunocytochemical studies of infected gills revealed viral specific immunoreactivities in the cytoplasm of gill tissue and in ha emocytes. No antibody binding was observed in gills from non-infected shrim p. in addition, immunocytochemical examination of tissues from shrimp exper imentally infected with YHV gave a positive reaction, while tissues from un infected control shrimp or shrimp experimentally infected with WSSV did not . Western blot analysis indicated that the antibody reacted with a protein of approximately 135 kD that was present only in shrimp infected with YHV. In dot-blot indirect immunoperoxidase assays, the antibody was able to dete ct viral associated antigen in diluted haemolymph up to 1:50 dilution and i n an ammonium sulfate precipitate of haemolymph up to 1:1000 dilution. The results suggested that this antibody might be useful for development of eff ective diagnostic techniques for both heavy and mild YHV infections in shri mp.