Serodiagnosis of sheeppox and goatpox using an indirect ELISA based on synthetic peptide targeting for the major antigen P32

BACKGROUND: Sheeppoxvirus (SPPV), goatpoxvirus (GTPV) and lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) of cattle belong to the Capripoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family and can cause significant economic losses in countries where they are endemic. Despite the considerable threat that these viruses pose to livestock production and global trade in sheep, goats, cattle and their products, convenient and effective serodiagnostic tools are not readily available. Toward this goal, two synthetic peptides corresponding to the major antigen P32 were synthesized. These synthetic peptides were then used as antigen to develop an ELISA method to detect anti-SPPV and GTPV antibodies. RESULTS: The results indicated that the optimal concentration of coated recombinant antigen was 0.2 μg per well for a serum dilution of 1:10. The ELISA performed favorably when sera from sheep immunized experimentally were tested. CONCLUSION: This assay offers the prospect of synthetic peptide as antigens for indirect ELISA to detect SPPV and GTPV antibody in sheep and goat sera.