An improved polyclonal antiserum for detecting Ryegrass mosaic rymovirus

Ryegrass mosaic virus (RGMV) is considered the most serious and widespread virus infecting temperate pasture grasses. The use of visible symptoms to diagnose infection is unreliable and ELISA analysis requires antibodies with broad cross-reactivity. Here we describe the production of a polyclonal antiserum (PAb-cp3′Δ) using a bacterially expressed RGMV coat protein fragment. The PAb-cp3′Δ antiserum is specific for RGMV and recognises RGMV strains from each major phylogenetic cluster. PAb-cp3′Δ may be used in ELISAs for fast, accurate and inexpensive detection of RGMV. © Springer-Verlag 2005.