1. Development of a monoclonal antibody to detect predation of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci
- Author
-
Albert G. Brower, James R. Hagler, David N. Byrne, Zhijian Tu, F. Javier Enriquez, and Debbie Bradley-Dunlop
- Subjects
biology ,Homoptera ,Biological pest control ,Whitefly ,biology.organism_classification ,Microbiology ,Lepidoptera genitalia ,Insect Science ,Botany ,PEST analysis ,Nymph ,Predator ,Chrysopidae ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics - Abstract
We have developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of whitefly antigen in the guts of predaceous arthropods based on a monoclonal antibody (MAb) produced in response to Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) egg antigen. We observed positive antigen-antibody reactions with the egg and the adult female stages of certain whitefly species and not with others. This MAb did not cross-react with any of the whitefly nymphs or adult males we tested. Moreover, this MAb did not cross-react with the various life stages of other insect species we examined. This immunologically-based technique to identify whitefly egg facilitates examinations of predator gut contents in the field. Such a specific and sensitive whitefly egg immunoassay will expedite the characterization of the B. tabaci predator complex in the southwestern United States.
- Published
- 1993