A Simple Method to Quantify Dot Blots For Predator Gut Content Analyses1

Variation in the Efficacy of Several Predator Gut Content Immunoassays

“…Therefore a positive immunoreaction (purple) on a dot blot yields a value lower than that of a negative immunoreaction (white). Predators were scored positive for pink bollworm egg remains if the hue was three standard deviations below that of the mean negative predator control reading (Hagler et al, 1995). Western blots were visually scored as positive if at least one band was visible on the nitrocellulose membrane.…”

“…ELISA has many subtle variations (e.g., direct, indirect, and sandwich ELISA), each of which offers distinct advantages and disadvantages under certain circumstances. Currently, the indirect ELISA and dot blot when used with specific antipest monoclonal antibodies (MAb) are the most common immunoassays used for examining predator gut content (Stuart and Greenstone, 1990;Hagler et al, 1991Hagler et al, , 1992Hagler et al, , 1995Hagler and Naranjo, 1994a,b;Greenstone and Hunt, 1993;Symondson and Liddell, 1993a,b). While each of the immunoassay formats described above has distinct advantages and disadvantages for examining predator gut content, to date, no experimental data exist that directly compares the efficacy of all these various immunoassays.…”

Measuring the Sensitivity of an Indirect Predator Gut Content ELISA: Detectability of Prey Remains in Relation to Predator Species, Temperature, Time, and Meal Size

“…Dot blots, although similar to indirect ELISAs, are more sensitive due to a greater number of competitive binding sites on a nitrocellulose membrane than on an ELISA microplate matrix. However, the major drawback with using a dot blot assay is that the immunoreaction is difficult to measure (Hagler et al, 1995). Finally, a sandwich ELISA can be substituted for the indirect ELISA.…”

PCR‐based gut content analysis of insect predators: using ribosomal ITS‐1 fragments from prey to estimate predation frequency

“…1996; Sleaford et al . 1996; Triltsch 1997), the development of prey‐specific protein antibodies (Greenstone & Hunt 1993; Hagler et al . 1995; Powell et al .…”