Production of polyclonal antibodies to various strains of rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) obtained across different agro-ecological zones in West Africa

Abstract

High titer polyclonal antibodies for serological diagnostic purposes were locally produced to for-ty isolates of rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) collected from different sites across four West African countries (18- from Cote d'Ivoire, 2- from Burkina Faso, 5- from Mali and 15- from Niger Republic). This was achieved by immunizing rabbits with purified viral preparations. The primary goal was toobtain high titer, high affinity antisera for use in experiments and diagnostic tests for all WARDA collaborating partners (NARS). RYMV from each isolate was purified from infected rice leaves collectedfrom each location. For quarantine and bio-safety reasons, none of the foreign isolate was used as inoculum for multiplication of virus in the screen houses in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire; instead, sufficient leafsamples were collected from different locations, transported and kept in the freezer until use forvirus purification. Polyclonal antibodies were produced using the purified virus preparations with combination of complete and incomplete Freund's adjuvant. These high titer serological reagents, kept atthe Africa Rice Center (WARDA), are available for use by all WARDA collaborators (National AgriculturalResearch laboratories) for identifying, classifying and typing of RYMV isolates. © 2009 Academic Journals.