A monoclonal antibody specific for conidia and mycelium wall layer of Penicillium and Aspergillus

A monoclonal antibody was obtained from BALB/c mice immunized with Penicillium frequentans mycelium. The specificity of the antibody was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent and indirect immunofluorescence assays against the same mycelium. This IgM antibody cross-reacted with various strains of the Penicillium and Aspergillus genera. By indirect immunofluorescence assays, the antibody was able to stain about 10% of Penicillium and Aspergillus conidia, but major part of conidia did not absorb the fluorescence-labeled antibody before swelling. During germination of P. frequentans conidia, the germ tube wall which constitutes a continuation of an inner wall layer was also stained. During germination of P. griseofulvum, the protrusion of the germ tube wall was not always recognized by the antibody because the germ tube wall was constituted by a continuation of an outer spore wall layer. The study of the staining patterns of the spores and the protrusions suggests that the antibody specifically recognizes an antigen of the inner spore wall layer. The monoclonal antibody reacts with extracellular galactomannans produced by genera Aspergillus and Penicillium but is not directed against beta-(1,5)-linked galactofuranose units.