Polyclonal antibodies specific for VP1 and VP3 capsid proteins of Taura syndrome virus (TSV) produced via gene cloning and expression

Abstract

Capsid protein genes VP1and VP3 of Taura syndrome virus (TSV) were cloned into pGEX-6P-1expression vector and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21. After induction, recombinant VP1 (rVP1) and recombinant VP3 (rVP3) were produced, purified by SDS-PAGE and used for immunization of Swiss mice for antisera production. Anti-rVP1 and anti-rVP3 antisera showed specific immunoreactivities to rVP1 and rVP3 proteins, respectively, by Western blot assay and also yielded good results for detection of TSV in various shrimp tissues by immunohistochemistry. This is the first step towards our target of preparing monoclonal antibodies specific to rVP1 and rVP3 for use in simple immuno-diagnostic test kits for TSV detection and identification. © Inter-Research 2006.