Abstract
A serological assay has been developed that specifically reacts with Nosema furnacalis proteins. N. furnacalis spores were harvested from laboratory-reared Ostrinia nubilalis and purified by centrifugation through a Percoll gradient. Spores were germinated and soluble proteins were used to immunize rabbits and mice. Antibodies from hyperimmune animals were purified and used to develop an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The assay detected N. furnacalis proteins in infected O. nubilalis larvae and pupae, in Helicoverpa zea larvae and pupae, and in H. zea cell culture. Latex beads sensitized with antibody did not agglutinate spores of N. furnacalis or N. pyrausta, indicating that the antigens are probably internal sporoplasm proteins rather than soluble surface proteins. No cross reaction was observed when the assay was tested against five species of Nosema: N. pyrausta in O. nubilalis; N. apis in Apis mellifera; N. locustae in Melanoplus femurrubrum, M. bivitattis, and M. lakinus; N. bombycis in Bombyx mori; and an undescribed species from Malacosoma americanum. Three species of Vairimorpha were also tested, all showing no cross reaction: V. necatrix, another pathogen of O. nubilalis, and two undescribed Vairimorpha spp. in Hyphantria cunea and Alabama argillacea. Western blot analysis confirmed specificity of the ELISA, distinguishing among N. furnacalis infected, N. pyrausta infected, and unifected O. nubilalis.
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