Monoclonal Antibodies against dorsal and sub-ventral structures in Meloidogyne spp. (Melodogynidae, "Root-knot nematode"), 13 lines

ApplicationsMembers of the genus Meloidogyne (Chitwood;over 90 species), the root-knot nematodes (roundworm), are an agronomicallyimportant group of pathogens that establish a complex parasitic relationshipwith a wide range of host plants. Currently, well over 2000 plants are susceptible to root-knot nematodeinfections, leading to over 5% of global crop loss. Substances produced in theesophageal glands of Chitwood are secreted through the stylets of feedingroot-knot nematodes, modifying several root protophloem cells into elaboratefeeding sites called giant-cells. Nutrients from the giant-cells are requiredfor the growth and pronounced morphological changes that occur during nematodedevelopment from a motile, vermiform juvenile to an enlarged, rounded,sedentary adult female. These changes include a reduction in size of the twosubventral esophageal gland cells and an increase in size of the single dorsalesophageal gland cell as the nematode develops to an adult female.  The development of monoclonal antibodies mayhelp elucidate the function of several nematodal structures in organismaldevelopment and  plant parasitism byfacilitating isolation of proteins from complex mixtures and aid in the developmentof counter-measures.  All nematodes passthrough an embryonic stage, four juvenile stages (J1–J4) and an adult stage. Givencertain similarities of Mab binding across multiple species of the Nematodaphylum,  these antibodies may also besuitable for the study of development of, and parasitism by, other members ofthe phylum. Applicable inimmunostaining, ELISA

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