Production and Characterization of Monoclonal Antibodies against Occluded Virion of Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus from Bombyx mori(Lepidoptera:Bombycidae)

Abstract

To identify structural protein genes of the silkworm, Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV), monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were raised against the occluded virion (OV) and characterized. Out of 35 MAbs obtained, 10 belonged to immunoglobulin G (IgG) class. Two IgG class MAbs reacted with polyhedra. three of the other 8 IgG class MAbs, designated 7D2, 8D5 and EHA, reacted with 2 to 9 polypeptides of BmNPV-OV. The periodate oxidation of OV suggested that 2 MAbs of 7C8 and CD6 are specific for carbohydrates. The electronmicroscopic observation indicated that 7D2 and 7C8 are reactive to antigenic determinants, present on the nucleocapsid and envelope, respectively. These results suggest that 7D2 can be a good tool as a probe to screen genes for nucleocapsid structural proteins from a BmNPV genomic library.