Establishment of an Immunological Method for Detection of Bluetongue Virus by Fluorescence-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

Bluetongue (BT) is a severe noncontagious infectious disease that occurs in sheep and wild ruminants but occasionally also in cattle and camels. The worldwide BT pandemic has had a significant impact on global livestock production. Rapid detection helps prevent outbreaks of bluetongue disease. Fluorescence-linked immunosorbent assay (FLISA) labeled with quantum dots (QDs) is typically used for detection due to its high sensitivity. There has been no reported detection of BT virus (BTV) using QD-based fluorescence immunoassays. In this study, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against BT were prepared by immunizing BALB/c mice with recombinant VP7 protein. Two MAbs with high sensitivity and specificity were selected as the detection antibody (2F11) and capture antibody (11B7). Then, the detection antibody was coupled with QDs to prepare QD-MAb fluorescence probes. Fluorescence-linked immunosorbent assay is highly specific, detecting only VP7 protein/BTV, and did not show any nonspecific reactions with other reoviruses. The detection limit of VP7 protein was 3.91 ng/mL using fluorescence-linked immunosorbent assay, with a coefficient of variation (CV) of less than 15%. The establishment of rapid, sensitive direct FLISA has potential for bluetongue virus detection and control of BT vaccine quality. IMPORTANCE Bluetongue virus causes the severe infectious disease BT. BTV has many serotypes, and there is no cross-protection among different serotypes. BT is listed as a notifiable animal infectious disease by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and occurs throughout the world, causing significant economic losses. The establishment of a fast and effective detection method is the key to controlling and preventing this disease. Current methods for detecting BTV mainly include reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and immunochromatographic strips that are based on antigen-antibody recognition. Immunoassays are most commonly used because of their low cost, high specificity, and fast analysis, making them particularly useful for routine monitoring. These conventional detection strategies for BTV have some drawbacks. Recently, FLISA has been drawing attention due to its sensitivity, which is higher than traditional immunoassays. Fluorescence-linked immunosorbent assays (FLISA) using fluorescent materials as labels overcome ELISA’s disadvantage of being time-consuming.