MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY‐BASED ELISAS FOR THE DETECTION OF BACTERIAL SPORES 1

Abstract

Abstract Monoclonal antibodies against bacterial spores were used to develop ELISAs to detect a range of spores. ELISAs utilizing anti‐Bacillus spore antibodies detected spores of Bacillus megaterium ATCC 12872, Bacillus stearothermophilus ATCC 7953, Bacillus subtilis var. globigii and Bacillus cereus T. They did not detect Bacillus subtilis A, Bacillus coagulans ATCC 56177 or Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 9789. One ELISA utilizing anti‐Clostridium spore antibodies detected spores of Desulfotomaculum nigrificans ATCC 7946, Clostridium perfringens ATCC 3624 and B. stearothermophilus ATCC 7953, but not spores of Clostridum sporogenes PA3679 or Clostridium botulinum 62A. Whole milk, skim milk, gelatin and starch all interfered to some degree with the abilities of the assays to detect spores. Neither centrifugation nor immunomagnetic bead separation provided sufficient concentration of spores from the food matrix to be applicable to the ELISAs developed.These results demonstrate the ability to detect a range of spores using monoclonal antibody‐based ELISAs. Such assays may, however, be limited by sensitivity and interference from food components.