A survey of G6 and G10 serotypes of group A bovine rotaviruses from diarrheic beef and dairy calves using monoclonal antibodies in ELISA

Food Animal Health Research Program, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State University, Wooster 44691.

Group A bovine rotaviruses (BRV) have been identified worldwide as a major cause of diarrhea in the young of many species, including humans. Group A rotaviruses are classified into serotypes on the basis of the outer capsid proteins, VP7 (G types) and VP4 (P types). To date, there are 14 G types of group A rotaviruses, with G1, G6, G8, and G10 described for BRV isolates. In this study, G6- and G10-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the G typing of BRV-positive stool samples from diarrheic beef and dairy calves from South Dakota, Ohio, Michigan, Nebraska, and Washington, USA, and Ontario, Canada. ELISA plates were coated using a broadly reactive VP7 MAb (Common 60) or with G6- or G10-specific MAbs. BRV-positive fecal samples were diluted and added to duplicate wells, followed by the addition of polyclonal guinea pig anti-group A rotavirus serum as the secondary antibody. Several reference G6 and G10 BRV strains as well as other G types previously reported in cattle (G1, G2, G3, G8) and BRV-negative samples were included as G type specificity and negative controls. From a total of 308 field samples analyzed, 79% (244/308) tested positive by the broadly reactive VP7 MAb; of these, 54% (131/244) were G6 positive, 14% (35/244) were G10 positive, 4% (9/244) were both G6 and G10 positive, and 28% (69/244) were G6 and G10 negative.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)