Monoclonal antibodies to the major structural proteins of bacteriophage phi 6.

A panel of 38 monoclonal antibodies to the five major structural proteins of phi 6 was generated and characterized. The panel includes antibodies recognizing the receptor recognition protein P3, the major hydrophobic envelope protein P9, the nucleocapsid surface protein P8, and the nucleocapsid proteins P1 and P4, which are involved in the viral RNA polymerase activity and form the internal protein skeleton of the nucleocapsid. Six out of the fourteen antibodies to the receptor recognition protein, P3, showed neutralizing activity, interfering with the adsorption of phi 6 to host cells.