Abstract
Immunoglobulin (Ig) was purified from the serum of eel (Anguilla japonica) and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the detection of eel antibody. Sera were collected from eel which had been injected with formalin-killed Edwardsiella tarda bacterin. A pool of the sera was precipitated with a 40% saturated ammonium sulfate solution, and then immunoglobulin was purified from the precipitates by gel-filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. The purified Ig emulsified in Freund's complete adjuvant was administered to a rabbit to prepare anti-eel Ig serum.
Eel were immersed in the E. tarda bacterin at a density of 1 mg wet weight/ml for 1 h. Change in antibody titers in the vaccinated fish was determined by indirect ELISA. The titers of vaccinated fish were significantly higher than those of unvaccinated control fish.
