Partial characterization of two novel monoclonal antibodies for Listeria spp. Immunodetection

Background The Listeria genus comprises ten different species, however, only two of them L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are pathogenic. Although being a well-known pathogen, its detection methodologies are still limited. The goldstandard technique involves enrichment, isolation, and biochemical characterization, which can take about 7 days [1]. In addition, since both pathogenic and non-pathogenic species are present in contaminated food, it is important to detect them both [2]. This way, new methods, such as the immunodetection using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), have been developed to reduce the detection time of Listeria spp.. Recently, our group described a hybridoma clone secreting a MAb of the IgM isotype, called MAb3F8, that reacts exclusively with an antigen of 30 kDa (P30) present in all Listeria spp. evaluated [3]. In the present work, we produced and initially characterized, by ELISA and Western blot, other two novel antibodies against P30 to be used in Listeria spp. immunodetection assays.