Monoclonal antibody-based serological assays and immunocapture-RT-PCR for detecting Rice dwarf virus in field rice plants and leafhopper vectors

Rice dwarf virus (RDV) causes Rice dwarf disease, which leads to considerable losses in rice production in Asia. Purified RDV virions were used as the immunogen to prepare monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Three murine mAbs against RDV were prepared. Plate-trapped antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PTA-ELISA), dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot-ELISA) and immunocapture-RT-PCR (IC-RT-PCR) were then developed for sensitive, specific, and rapid detection of RDV in rice and leafhopper samples obtained in the field using the mAbs. The PTA-ELISA, dot-ELISA and IC-RT-PCR detected the virus in infected tissue crude extracts diluted at 1:81,920, 1:10,240 and 1:655,360 (w/v, g mL−1), in individual viruliferous rice green leafhopper crude extracts diluted at 1:25,600, 1:6400 and 1:3,276,800 (individual leafhopper/μL), respectively. 878 rice field samples and 531 leafhopper field samples from ten provinces of China were screened for the presence of RDV using the two serological assays and the IC-RT-PCR and the results indicated that 37 of the 878 rice samples and 22 of the 531 leafhopper samples were infected by RDV. All positive samples were from Yunnan Province, indicating that RDV is prevalent in this province, but not in the other nine provinces. The dot-ELISA is suitable for routine detection of large-scale rice and leafhopper samples in field surveys.