LM6-M: a high avidity rat monoclonal antibody to pectic α-1,5-L-arabinan

1,5-arabinan is an abundant structural feature of side chains of pectic rhamnogalacturonan-I which is a matrix constituent of plant cell walls. The study of arabinan in cells and tissues is driven by putative roles for this polysaccharide in the generation of cell wall and organ mechanical properties. The biological function(s) of arabinan is still uncertain and high quality molecular tools are required to detect its occurrence and monitor its dynamics. Here we report a new rat monoclonal antibody, LM6-M, similar in specificity to the published rat monoclonal antibody LM6 (Willats et al. (1998) Carbohydrate Research 308: 149-152). LM6-M is of the IgM immunoglobulin class and has a higher avidity for α-1-5-L-arabinan than LM6. LM6-M displays high sensitivity in its detection of arabinan in in-vitro assays such as ELISA and epitope detection chromatography and in in-situ analyses.