Experiments on the use of latex, bentonite, and water-insoluble antiserum protein polymers in sensitive serological tests

Abstract

Experiments were performed to detect low concentrations of plant viruses with the latex-agglutination test, the bentonite-flocculation test, and a test using water-insoluble antiserum protein polymers. Special attention was paid to the potato viruses X and S, and to the influence of high concentrations of normal plant constituents, notably from potato plants, on the sensitivity of the methods. It was found that under certain circumstances lower virus concentrations could be detected with these methods than with the conventional micro-agglutination or micro-precipitation test. However, sensitivity was negatively influenced by sap from potato plants, especially in experiments with potato virus S. To really profit from the sensitive tests mentioned, their sensitivity should be greater than in my experiments.