Identification of caprine arthritis-encephalitis retrovirus proteins in immunodiffusion precipitin lines

1 Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164, U.S.A. Precipitin lines formed between serum from a goat infected with caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) and radiolabelled viral proteins in polyethylene glycolconcentrated culture medium were excised from immunodiffusion (ID) plates and analysed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The two major precipitin lines contained the 135000 mol. wt. glycoprotein (gp135) and the internal 28000 mol. wt. structural protein (p28). This method obviates the use of purified proteins or monospecific antisera to positively determine viral constituents in ID precipitin lines formed between a crude antigen preparation and antiserum against whole virus. Keywords: CAEV, serum, proteins Received 12 September 1984; accepted 14 January 1985.