VIEW ARTICLE

The Use of Fluorescent Antibodies for Detection of Pierce’s Disease Bacteria in Grapevines and Insect Vectors. J. G. Auger, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis 95616, Present address of senior author: Facultad de Agronomia, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 1004, Santiago, Chile; T. A. Shalla, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis 95616. Phytopathology 65:493-494. Accepted for publication 3 December 1974. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-65-493.

An antiserum was produced against a pure culture of the bacterium that causes Pierce’s disease (PD) in grapevines. Immunoglobulins were conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate and used for immune labeling of bacteria released from vascular tissue of PD-infected grapevine leaves and from infective leafhopper vectors. Evidence for specificity of the staining reaction is presented together with descriptions of the methods used.