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Physiology and Biochemistry

Immunoassay for Naphthazarin Phytotoxins Produced by Fusarium solani. D. C. Phelps, Biochemist research associate, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Orlando, FL 32803, Present address: Enzymatics Inc., Horsham, PA 19044; S. Nemec(2), R. Baker(3), and R. Mansell(4). (2)Plant pathologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Orlando, FL 32803; (3)Chemist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Winter Haven, FL 33880; (4)Immunologist, Biology Department, University of South Florida, Tampa 33620. Phytopathology 80:298-302. Accepted for publication 3 October 1989. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1990. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-80-298.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for isomarticin, a naphthazarin toxin produced by Fusarium solani, was developed. A carbodiimide procedure was used to couple the hapten isomarticin to bovine serum albumin for the immunogen and to alkaline phosphatase for the enzyme-linked tracer. The resulting assay had a detection limit of 2 ng/ml for isomarticin; other naphthazarin toxins were detectable at less than 10 ng per well in ELISA plates. The assay was specific for naphthazarins. The cross-reactivity for a number of phenolic compounds, including the closely related naphthoquinones, was three orders of magnitude less sensitive.