Abstract
The production and testing of 10 rat monoclonal antibodies specific for strains of potato virus X (PVX) are described. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) with a variety of specificities were selected. At one extreme, MAb MAC 58 reacted with all 33 PVX isolates tested; in contrast, MAb MAC 67 reacted strongly with only two of 33 isolates, one of which was the resistance-breaking PVX-HB against which it was raised. The reactions of the PVX isolates with the MAbs were compared with the classification of PVX strains based on their effects in plants carrying different resistance genes; a preliminary serological classification is suggested. It is possible to distinguish PVX-HB from all other isolates tested using two MAbs (MAC 67 and MAC 59), and these, together with MAC 58, were produced in large quantities in ascitic fluids. Together they provide a valuable set of reagents for use in routine testing.