Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Development of a lateral flow immunoassay for rapid field detection of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is an aggressive, highly invasive pest ant species from South America that has been introduced into North America, Asia, and Australia. Quarantine efforts have been imposed in the USA to minimize further spread of the ant. To aid the quarantine efforts, there remains an acute need for a rapid, field portable method for the identification of these ants. In this report, we describe two novel monoclonal antibodies that specifically bind the S. invicta venom protein 2 produced by S. invicta. Using these monoclonal antibodies we developed a lateral flow immunoassay that provides a rapid and portable method for the identification of S. invicta ants. The lateral flow immunoassay was validated against purified S. invicta venom protein 2 and 33 unique ant species (representing 15 % of the total species and 42 % of the Myrmicinae genera found in Florida), and only S. invicta and the S. invicta/richteri hybrid produced a positive result. These monoclonal antibodies were selective to S. invicta venom protein 2 and did not bind to proteins from congeners (i.e., S. geminata or S. richteri) known to produce a S. invicta venom protein 2 ortholog. This S. invicta lateral flow immunoassay provides a new tool for regulatory agencies in the USA to enforce quarantine protocols and limit the spread of this invasive ant.

Field method to detect and identify the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Tschinkel WR. The fire ants. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press; 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Pereira RM. Areawide suppression of fire ant populations in pastures: project update. J Agric Urban Entomol. 2003;20(2):123–30.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Callcott AM, Collins HL. Invasion and range expansion of imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in North America from 1918–1995. Fla Entomol. 1996;79(2):240–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Streett DA, Freeland TB, Vander Meer RK. Survey of imported fire ant (Hymenoptera : Formicidae) populations in Mississippi. Fla Entomol. 2006;89(1):91–2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Bertagnolli D, Graham LC, Vander Meer RK. Ouch! Who bit me? IFA in Alabama. In: 2007 annual imported fire ant conference. 2007. p. 112–115.

  6. Oliver JB, Vander Meer RK, Ochieng SA, Youssef NN, Hosack MY, Mrema FA, et al. Statewide survey of imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) populations in Tennessee. J Entomol Sci. 2009;44:149–57.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Williams DF, Collins HL, Oi DH. The red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): an historical perspective of treatment programs and the development of chemical baits for control. Am Entomol. 2001;47(3):146–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Stablein JJ, Lockey RF. Adverse reactions to ant stings. Clin Rev Allergy. 1987;5(2):161–75.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Porter SD, Oi DH, Valles SM, Vander Meer RK. Mitigating the allergic effects of fire ant envenomation with biologically based population reduction. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013;13(4):372–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Valles SM, Porter SD. Identification of polygyne and monogyne fire ant colonies (Solenopsis invicta) by multiplex PCR of Gp-9 alleles. Insect Soc. 2003;50(2):199–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ross KG, Shoemaker DD. Species delimitation in native South American fire ants. Mol Ecol. 2005;14(11):3419–38.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Hoffman DR. Ant venoms. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010;10(4):342–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Schmidt M, Walker RB, Hoffman DR, Mcconnell TJ. Cloning and sequencing of the cDNA-encoding the imported fire ant venom allergen, SoliII. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1993;91(1):186.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Hoffman DR. Allergens in hymenoptera venom: the amino acid sequences of imported fire ant venom allergens SoliII, SoliIII, and SoliIV. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1993;91(1):71–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Hopp TP, Woods KR. Prediction of protein antigenic determinants from amino acid sequences. Proc Natl Acad Sci Biol. 1981;78(6):3824–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Fisher BL, Cover SP. Ants of North America, a guide to the genera. Berkeley: University of California Press; 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  17. MacGown JA (2003) Ants (Formicidae) of the Southeastern United States. Mississippi State University. www.mississippientomologicalmuseum.org. Accessed 2015.

  18. Deyrup M, Cover S. A new species of Odontomachus ant (Hymenoptera : Formicidae) from inland ridges of Florida, with a key to Odontomachus of the United States. Fla Entomol. 2004;87(2):136–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Trager JC, MacGown JA, Trager MD. Revision of the nearctic endemic Formica pallidefulva group. In: Snelling RR, Fisher BL, Ward PS, editors. Advances in ant systematics (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): homage to E. O. Wilson–50 years of contributions. Plazi.org. 2007.

  20. Rabeling C, Cover SP, Johnson RA, Mueller UG. A review of the North American species of the fungus-gardening ant genus Trachymyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa. 2007;1664:1–53.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Laemmli UK. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970;227(5259):680–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. O'Farrell B. Lateral flow immunoassay systems: evolution from the current state of the art to the next generation of highly sensitive, quantitative rapid assays. In: Wild D, editor. The immunoassay handbook. Oxford: Elsevier; 2013. p. 89–107.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  23. Choi S, Lee JH, Choi JS, Jung HI. Economical and rapid manufacturing of lateral flow immunosensor using fountain pens and gold colloidal solution. Anal Methods. 2015;7(5):1834–42.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Altschul SF, Madden TL, Schaffer AA, Zhang J, Zhang Z, Miller W, et al. Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new generation of protein database search programs. Nucleic Acids Res. 1997;25(17):3389–402.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Borer AS, Wassmann P, Schmidt M, Hoffman DR, Zhou J-J, Wright C, et al. Crystal structure of Sol i 2: a major allergen from fire ant venom. J Mol Biol. 2012;415(4):635–48.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Hoffman DR. Reactions to less common species of fire ants. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1997;100(5):679–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Haight KL, Tschinkel WR. Patterns of venom synthesis and use in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Toxicon. 2003;42(6):673–82.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Baer H, Liu TY, Anderson MC, Blum M, Schmid WH, James FJ. Protein components of fire ant venom (Solenopsis invicta). Toxicon. 1979;17(4):397–405.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Hoffman DR. Fire ant venom allergy. Allergy. 1995;50(7):535–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Deyrup M. An updated list of Florida ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Fla Entomol. 2003;86(1):43–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank D. Oi (USDA-ARS, Gainesville, FL) and R. Hnasko (USDA-ARS, Albany, CA) for critical reviews of the manuscript and R. Hnasko for valuable discussions on antibodies and LFA technique. We also thank Dr. J. Oliver (Tennessee State University) for providing the Solenopsis richteri samples. The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the United States Department of Agriculture or the Agricultural Research Service of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. This material was made possible, in part, by a Cooperative Agreement from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and may not necessarily express the views of APHIS.

Author contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: S.M. Valles. Performed the experiments: S.M. Valles, C.A. Strong. Analyzed the data: S. M. Valles, C.A. Strong. Wrote the paper: S. M. Valles, A-M.A Callcott.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA

    Steven M. Valles & Charles A. Strong

  2. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Biloxi, MS, 39530, USA

    Anne-Marie A. Callcott

Authors
  1. Steven M. Valles
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Charles A. Strong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anne-Marie A. Callcott
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven M. Valles.

Ethics declarations

Antibody production was completed under contract by ProMab Biotechnologies in compliance with state and federal laws.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Valles, S.M., Strong, C.A. & Callcott, AM.A. Development of a lateral flow immunoassay for rapid field detection of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Anal Bioanal Chem 408, 4693–4703 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9553-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9553-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation