2012 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416): Develop new monoclonal antibodies that can be used for rapid detection and identification of Potato virus Y (PVY) strains that can be utilized on a large scale by certification agencies, researchers, and diagnostic facilities. 1b.Approach (from AD-416): Nucleoproteins of diverse strains of PVY will be purified using standard methods. These will be used to immunize mice for production of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) by hybridoma technology. The MAbs will be tested for virus strain specificity using a large panel of characterized PVY isolates available to the cooperator. 3.Progress Report: This is the final report for this project. Potato virus Y (PVY) is the most important virus of potato and reduces both yield and quality of potato tubers. Because PVY occurs as a number of different genetic strains, reliable detection and identification is critical in efforts to control this virus. Some PVY strains cause necrosis (death) of potato tuber tissue and these viruses (PVY-N) have become more important in North America and Europe in the last ten years. Some of our trading partners require testing for PVY prior to importation of US potatoes. Recently it became clear that new and better tests were needed when potatoes were rejected by a trading partner due to false positive test results. This need led ARS and University researchers to develop new antibodies to PVY and improve techniques for detection and identification of these virus strains. Results showed that only by testing with more than one PVY-N antibody can these viruses be reliably detected. This capability will aid researchers, seed certification agencies, and diagnostic laboratories to rapidly detect and correctly identify the strains of PVY. During these investigations, an additional new strain of PVY was detected in material from South America. This discovery underscores the need for these new detection methods. This project involves development of improved diagnostic procedures for isolates of potato virus Y which contributes directly to objective 2 of the related in-house project, "Determine host resistance options, epidemiological parameters and develop diagnostic tests for emerging pests and pathogens of potato".