A new test to detect ToBRFV has been developed. It works as follows: squeeze the juice from one tomato leaf into a pipet diluted with water and then simply drop the liquid on the paper test slip. After 10 seconds, if the paper test slip shows two dark red horizontal lines, then the tomato leaf was infected with ToBRFV. The new paper test slip was developed in the botanical virology lab at Shandong Agricultural University.
Professor Li Xiangdong, a specialist in botanical virology and spokesperson for the lab, recently introduced the new test: "Our lab recently developed paper slip test that can detect ToBRFV in 10 seconds. The sensitivity of this test is high compared to other test methods. The test is also more specific, easier to use, easier to work with, and very suitable for large-scale sample testing in the field. The test can provide valuable early warnings for the outbreak of ToBRFV."
The key to ToBRFV prevention is a quick identifier and early-warning system. Current tests involve complicated methods including PCR-testing and fluorescent testing. These methods often require precision instruments and trained personnel. The new paper slip test of professor Li Xiangdong and the botanical virology lab simplifies procedures and is able to produce a result that can be observed by the naked eye without the use of precision instruments within seconds or minutes. This method is ideal for in-the-field testing.
According to professor Li Xiangdong, the lab combined ToBRFV particles with tumor technology to prepare 17 strains of ToBRFV monoclonal antibodies. The team then took 2 different types of monoclonal antibodies and fixed them separately on a combination of a colloid gold pad and a nitric acid cellulose membrane. The combination is embedded in a slip of paper that can detect monoclonal antibodies in a liquid solution that was diluted 12,800 times (containing 8ug of tomato leaf juice). The method is quick and accurate: the paper test slip does not respond to other tobacco leaf viruses or other tomato leaf viruses.
"We have done similar tests on pepper leaves, and received equally excellent results. We have already applied for a national patent and our paper slip test has been tested by agricultural departments and companies in Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu, and Anhui," said professor Li Xiangdong.
Source: k.sina.com.cn