Monoclonal antibody and method for diagnosing grape disease employing same

Abstract

A monoclonal antibody specific to Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3. A method of diagnosing Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3 associated grapevine disease comprising: (1) culturing bacteria from grapevine tissue suspected of being infected with Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3; (2) reacting the bacteria with a monoclonal antibody specific to Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3 under conditions sufficient to form an antigen-antibody complex between antigens specific to Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3 and the monoclonal antibody; and (3) detecting the presence of the antigen-antibody complex. A method for diagnosing Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3 associated grapevine disease from crown gall tissue comprising: (1) preparing separate suspensions of ground gall tissue to be diagnosed and of ground wood of the same cultivar as a control; (2) separately reacting specific to Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3 under conditions sufficient to form an antigen-antibody complex between antigens specific to Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3 and the monoclonal antibody; (3) assaying for the presence of the antigen-antibody complex ; and (4) comparing the assay results for the gall tissue to be diagnosed to the assays results for the wood control. A method for diagnosing agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3 associated grapevine disease from nonsymptomatic grapevine cuttings comprising: (1) separately flushing fluid through cuttings to be diagnosed and through uninfected control cuttings; (2) separately reactign the fluid flushed through the cuttings with monoclonal antiody specific to agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3 under conditions sufficient to form an antigen-antibody complex between antigens specific to Agrobacterium tumefaiens biovar 3 and the monoclonal antibody; (3) assaying for the presence of the antigen-antibody complex; and (4) comparing the assay results for said cuttings to be diagnosed to the assay results for the control cuttings. A hybridoma that secretes the above-described monoclonal antibody and a method of producing the hybridoma.

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