National survey of viruses in pastures of subterranean clover. III. Equipment for large scale screening of viruses by ELISA

Abstract

Equipment for large scale enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for a 3 year nationwide survey of the incidence of four viruses in pastures of Trifolium subterraneum (subterranean clover) in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. Instruments were designed to (a) automate quantitatively the addition of buffer to plant samples passing through a sap extractor, (b) standardize the washing of plates in the various stages of the ELISA protocol, and (c) replace hand pipetting with a pneumatic foot-operated pipette.