The development of an indirect ELISA for the detection of goose parvovirus antibodies using specific VP3 subunits as the coating antigen

Background: In Poland, the leader in goose production in Europe, goose parovirus infection, or Derzsy's disease (DD), must be reported to the veterinary administration due to the serious economic and epizootic threat to waterfowl production. Prophylactic treatment for DD includes attenuated live or inactivated vaccines. Moreover, the control of DD includes the monitoring of maternal derived antibody (MDA) levels in the offspring and antibody titers in the parent flock after vaccination. The aim of this study was to develop an ELISA for the detection of goose parvovirus (GPV) antibodies. Results: Two recombinant protein fragments derived from VP3 (viral protein 3) GPV, namely VP3ep6 and VP3ep4-6 with a mass of 20.9 and 32.3 kDa, respectively, were produced using an Escherichia coli expression system. These proteins were purified by one-step nickel-affinity chromatography, which yielded protein preparations with a purity above 95%. These recombinant proteins were useful in the detection of serum anti-GPV antibodies, and this was confirmed by Western blotting. However, recombinant VP3ep4-6 protein showed a greater ability to correctly identify sera from infected geese. In the next stage of the project, a pool of 166 goose sera samples, previously examined by a virus neutralization test (VN), was tested. For further studies, one recombinant protein (VP3ep4-6) was selected for optimization of the test conditions. After optimization, the newly developed ELISA was compared to other serological tests, and demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: In conclusion, the VP3ep4-6 ELISA method described here can be used for the detection of antibodies to GPV in serum.