Monoclonal Antibody ELISA Assay for Detection of
in Oyster Perkinsus Marinus Tissues
Both resource managers and commercial oyster growers must have the ability to accurately diagnose Dermo disease. The limitation with the current, long-time standard, Ray's modified thioglycollate medium (RFTM), is that it is not specific to
Perkinsus marinus – there are other
Perkinsus species which may or may not cause disease in oysters. For these reasons, an important focus of the Oyster Disease Research Program has been development of diagnostic tools that can be used in the field for rapid disease diagnosis. Molecular probes are one such tool; another is quantitative analysis assays that are based on antibodies. Antibodies are proteins generated in the blood of an organism when it is invaded by a pathogen, in order to destroy the pathogen. It is such assays that Chris Dungan has been developing. While he has successfully employed techniques that disclose the presence of
Perkinsus species in oyster tissue and in Bay waters, he is now developing techniques that will allow the production of pure
P. marinus cell extracts – if successful, these assays hold promise for rapid detection of Dermo disease.
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Christopher F. Dungan
NOAA Cooperative Oxford Laboratory
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
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