RT Journal T1 PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION OF POLYCLONAL ANTIBODIES AGAINST HOMOLOGOUS CITRUS TRISTEZA VIRUS (CTV) ISOLATES FROM PAKISTAN A1 Z. Abbas A1 S. Hameed A1 B. Lockhart A1 S. Bratsch A1 N. Olszewski A1 Dur-e-shahwar A1 M. A. Rehman A1 S. M. Saqlan Naqvi JF Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences JO JAPS SN 1018-7081 VO 31 IS 4 SP 1052 OP 1059 YR 2020 FD 2020/12/15 DO DOI https://doi.org/10.36899/JAPS.2021.4.0302 AB

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is a plant pathogenic virus first reported infecting citrus plants in the 1930’s in Brazil and Argentina and is now widely spread through all citrus growing areas. A CTV isolate from an infected Pakistani sweet orange tree was selected for sequencing to subsequently produce recombinant CTV coat protein. The purified recombinant CTV coat protein was used as an antigen for the production of polyclonal antisera in rabbits. The antisera were tested in direct antigen coating enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (DAC-ELISA) against various CTV isolates from Pakistan and T-30 from the USA. The antisera reacted strongly in DAC-ELISA with both homologous and heterologous isolates of CTV from infected citrus leaf and bark tissue. These antisera were compared with a commercially available ELISA kit and were more sensitive to Pakistani isolates of CTV than the commercial ELISA kit. An inexpensive virus-free testing and certification program using the antisera produced here would provide farmers with the knowledge to eliminate CTV infected and unproductive trees, which could then be replaced with healthy young trees. The implementation of such a scheme would reduce the incidence of CTV in citrus orchards, reduce yield losses caused by CTV, and could lead to the elimination of CTV from Pakistan

K1 CTV, DAC-ELISA, Antibodies, Polyclonal antisera, Coat protein PB Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum LK https://thejaps.org.pk/AbstractView.aspx?mid=AG-20-0057