SUMMARY
We generated monoclonal antibodies (mab) against feline immunodeficiency virus (fiv) and characterized these mab by single competition enzyme immunoassays (eia), immunoblot analysis, and radioimmunoprecipitation. Four mab identified 3 distinct epitopes of the fiv p24/26 gag major core protein. One mab recognized the pl6/17 gag protein; none recognized envelope proteins. We developed an fiv p26 antigen capture eia that proved more sensitive (0.5 ng of p26/ml), less expensive, and less timeconsuming than reverse transcriptase assay. The same mab were used to develop an antibody eia specific for fiv p26. The mab and capture assays reported should prove useful in fiv diagnosis and research.
