Development of new immunoanalytical test systems for diagnostics of potato blackleg caused by Dickeya spp. bacteria

Potato blackleg caused by Dickeya spp. bacteria is one of the most important bacterial diseases of potatoes. The rapid spread of this disease in the territory of Russia requires new effective diagnostic tools for the timely detection of infection. To solve this problem, antisera specific to Dickeya spp. were obtained. Polyclonal antibodies isolated from antisera have shown high affinity for the main species of Dickeya spp. ( D. solani, D. dianthicola, D. chrysanthemi, D. dadantii, D. paradisiaca ). Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) test systems have been developed based on specific and high affinity antibodies that were obtained. For ELISA, the detection limit was 0.8 × 105 cells/mL for D. solani and 2 × 104 cells/mL for D. dianthicola . For LFIA, suitable for use in non-laboratory conditions, the detection limit of D. solani was 2 × 105 cells/mL and the analysis time was 15 minutes. When testing potato seed material, LFIA test system confirmed positive results of ELISA determination in 75 % of samples, and negative - in 100 % of samples.