Use of Monoclonal Antibody in an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay to Detect the Presence of Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) S Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus Polyhedrin in T. ni Larvae

A sandwich type to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) incorporating monoclonal antibody and rabbit immune serum was used to detect polyhedrin in Trichoplusia ni S nuclear polyhedrosis virus (TSN)-infected T. ni (Huebner) larvae. Polyhedrin, the major component of nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) polyhedra, is coded for by the virus, and its presence in larvae indicates the presence of NPV or an NPV infection. At the medium and high dosages, the ELISA detected polyhedrin in or on larvae 2 h after exposure to the virus, before any protein amplification could have taken place, indicating a high degree of assay sensitivity.