Potensi Pemanfaatan Perangkat Diagnostik ELISA serta Variannya untuk Deteksi Patogen Tanaman

Diseases are major constrains to agricultural crop productions in Indonesia. In the current free world trade system, the chances of introduction of plant quarantine agents are higher, and are difficult to control, due to importation of seeds and other planting materials. Principles of the plant disease control include exclusion and eradication. Early and accurate disease diagnosis is an early and important step for a successful disease control. Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) is a promising technique for an aneffective and efficient disease diagnosis. Some advantages of technique over the conventional and molecular diagnostic techniques are economical use of reagents, high sensitivity, relatively simple and quick, suitable for large numbers of samples, and adaptable for automation. In the past decade, several variants and kits of ELISA had been introduced, such as Indirect ELISA, F(ab’)2 ELISA, Dot Blot ELISA, and Immuno Fluorescence Assay (ELFA). Based on the solid membrane used, the Dot Blot ELISA some variants were developed, such as the NCM-ELISA, Tissue Blotting ELISA, dan Paper ELISA. The ELISA variants had different limit of detection levels. The limit detection of the variants for bacteria is ranging from 102-105 cells/ml, while those for viruses were from 1-10 ng/ml. The times required for the ELISA tests ranging from 5-48 hours. Models and components of ELISA kits for some viral and bacterial plant pathogens had been developed, but more are still needed since generally for each pathogen needs a different kit. The commercially available ELISA kits are limited in numbers, some of them are for pathogens that are not present in Indonesia. Production of ELISA kits for domestic uses will be more effective and efficent, particularly for pathogens that are present in the country. The ELISA kits are applicable not only fo detection and identification of pathogens, but also for ecological study of the pathogens in conjuction with epidemiological study of the disease. This paper is a brief review on the ELISA technique and its variants and potential uses for detection of plant pathogens