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MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES SPECIFIC FOR SULFATED POLYSACCHARIDES ON THE SURFACE OF MACROCYSTIS PYRIFERA (PHAEOPHYCEAE) 1
Author(s) -
Eardley Diane D.,
Sutton Celia W.,
Hempel William M.,
Reed Daniel C.,
Ebeling Alfred W.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-3646.1990.00054.x
Subject(s) - fucoidan , biology , macrocystis pyrifera , antibody , fucose , antigen , monoclonal antibody , gametophyte , immunofluorescence , microbiology and biotechnology , polysaccharide , biochemistry , galactose , algae , botany , immunology , pollen
One of the principal polysaccharides in the cell wall of brown algae is fucoidan, a highly branched polymer of 1,2‐fucose with a sulfate group on the fourth carbon. In this report, we describe a set of monoclonal antibodies generated to the cell walls of gametophytes of the kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera (Linnaeus). C. Agardh. Ascites fluids of a set of four antibodies with specificity for the cell wall were purified by filtration chromatography. Each of these antibodies was specifically reactive with fucoidan, and one of the antibodies cross‐reacted with ascophyllan, which is a xyloglycuronan. The antibodies reacted in an immunofluorescence assay with surface determinants on the gametophytes of both Macrocystis pyrifera and Pterygophora californica Ruprecht which belong to different families in the order Laminariales. One of the antibodies (3H8) was further characterized for antigen fine specificity using an enzyme immunoassay. This antibody was specific for sulfate determinants present on fucoidan and related polysaccharides. Orientation of the sulfate was an important element in antibody specificity. Immunofluorescence microscopy carried out during the first four days of development in Pterygophora showed that the antigenic determinant recognized by the 3H8 antibody was present on spore capsules (embryospores) as well as the developing gametophyte. These results show that a sulfated epitope on fucoidan is present on the surface of the gametophyte shortly after germination and that it persists during the early stages of development. Our results indicate that any immunological differences between the morphologically similar gametophytes of the two helps are more likely to be quantitative than qualitative. Such differences may reflect differential mobilization of fucans during the process of germination and early development.