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Development of a Monoclonal Antibody for Detection of Leptosphaeria korrae, the Causal Agent of Necrotic Ringspot Disease of Turfgrass. S. T. Nameth, Assistant professor, Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus 43210-1087; W. W. Shane, and J. C. Stier. Assistant professor, and graduate research associate, Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus 43210-1087. Phytopathology 80:1208-1211. Accepted for publication 3 July 1990. Copyright 1990 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-80-1208.

Monoclonal antibody (MAb) LKc50 was developed against Leptosphaeria korrae strain ATCC 56289. The antibody was capable of detecting L. korrae from cultures and in naturally infected Kentucky bluegrass samples from three states. In cross-reactivity tests using indirect ELISA, MAb LKc50 reacted positively to all 24 isolates of L. korrae screened, including strains from six states, from both Kentucky bluegrass and bermudagrass. MAb LKc50 reacted negatively to 38 of 42 isolates of related and nonrelated fungi and negatively to apparently healthy grass. The limit of detection was less than 2 ?g/ml of lyophilized mycelial homogenate. MAb LKc50 provides a means for rapid detection of L. korrae, an ectotrophic root-invading fungus that is difficult to identify using conventional methods.