Production of a monoclonal antibody to Sugarcane mosaic virus and its application for virus detection in China

Three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were raised against the virion protein of Sugarcane mosaic virus Zhejiang isolate (SCMV-ZJ). All three MAbs, which belong to the immunoglobulin (IgG1) subclass, reacted with isolates of SCMV but not with seven other viruses tested by indirect antigen-coating plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (ACP-ELISA). MAb 2B5 was used in indirect ACP-ELISA for the detection of SCMV in maize leaf samples showing dwarf mosaic symptoms, and all 176 were found to be infected. Results of ACP-ELISA with MAb 2B5 correlated well with those obtained by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using the same tissues. This demonstrates that MAb 2B5 can be used to detect isolates of SCMV in field samples and that the virus is possibly the most common cause of maize dwarf mosaic disease in different parts of China