Use of monoclonal antibodies in identification and characterization of fish viruses

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for fish viruses have been used increasingly in fish health management programs and as tools in research. The initial and most widespread use has been in the development of improved diagnostic and virus identification assays. MAbs with broad reactivity that provide standardized reagents for use in general screening assays for particular groups of fish viruses have been developed, whereas MAbs with more restricted specificities permit the rapid serotyping of fish viruses and, in some cases, the identification of specific virus strains. The large number and variety of MAbs now available for some fish viruses, such as the aquatic birnaviruses and rhabdoviruses, present an ideal opportunity to select appropriate MAbs to construct standardized virus identification assays for use by all fish pathologists worldwide. Furthermore, these MAbs have been used to identify specific epitopes that stimulate a protective immune response to many fish viruses, and to investigate the mechanisms of antibody-mediated neutralization of fish viruses. They also have been used to study the epidemiology of specific viruses as well as antigenic variation and the mechanisms by which new strains arise. Such information is important for the development of reliable diagnostic assays for short-term control methods as well as the development of effective vaccines for long-term control of virus diseases in fish. This article presents a brief overview of MAb production and a review of some current applications of MAbs in the identification and characterization of viruses of fish.