Detection of red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) venom proteins and antibodies in mouse and its application
Date Issued
2008
Date
2008
Author(s)
Hua, Kuo-Hsun
Abstract
Red imported fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta Buren, is one of important invasive insect species. It seriously impacts the wildlife, agriculture, public health, and economy. They usually attack creatures which have similar habitats with them. Therefore, RIFA usually brings impacts to the wildlife and biodiversity. Rodents living on or under the ground probably encounter the RIFA and become victims. The venom of RIFA contains four major proteins that might be the allergens causing serious allergy reaction in hosts. These proteins may remain in rodent body for a retention period then induce the production of antibodies against these proteins. This thesis was dedicated to test the serum of the injured rodents to investigate the retention of RIFA venom proteins and production of antibodies, which may be applied to monitor the spreading and distribution of RIFA. For the detection of mouse blood, we applied the immunological assays with the monoclonal antibody Rf-E7 against RIFA to study several ecological factors for RIFA. The results demonstrated that the most efficient assay for a single RIFA (whole body extracts) test could be obtained when 105 fold dilution of Rf-E7 was used from the original stock. For pure venom assay, 105-106 fold dilution of Rf-E7 could achieve best results. The comparative immunological assays were conducted among different social forms, worker sizes, and worker tasks by DAS-ELISA and SDS-PAGE. The results showed no significant differences between two social forms. There were slight differences among different worker sizes and might be resulted from the different composition ratio of venom proteins. In the test of mouse serum after the mouse was injected with RIFA venom, the mouse blood was collected and the venom proteins were detected by DAS-ELISA. The ELISA value was elevated immediately after the venom injection and reached the highest level 4 h later. After 12 h, the ELISA value decreased gradually through time. Finally, the ELISA value decreased to a low level similar to the value without injection about 24 h later. These results indicated that the venom proteins could not remain in mouse body for long time. The induced antibodies were detected by indirect ELISA after venom proteins declined. The results showed positive reaction in venom-injected mouse and negative reaction in non-injected mouse. The antibodies from mouse was still detected 8 months after injected with RIFA venom. The detection of the RIFA venom and its antibodies in wild rats can be applied as a bio-indicator for the monitoring of RIFA spreading.
Subjects
red imported fire ant
venom protein
antibody
SDGs
Type
thesis
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