ABSTRACT
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Immunology, the scientific study of the immune response in vertebrates, has contributed greatly to contemporary biological ideas and practice. This is due to the uniqueness of concepts as well as the usefulness and wide application of its techniques in the analysis of plant macromolecules. Immunology has as its fundamental basis the response of animals to immunization with foreign cells, tissues, microorganisms, and proteins. Immunochemical methods have become widely employed because they permit the analysis of both unknown antigen mixtures (substance capable of inducing antibody formation in an animal) and highly purified antigens in terms of their cellular and tissue activity, sites of localization, and significance in chemotaxonomy and evolution. In the absence of other measurable activity (i.e., enzyme activity), immunochemical methods may provide the sole means for detecting, quantifying, and localizing a particular antigen. Immunochemistry represents a powerful research tool in the study of plant physiology/biochemistry and plant pathology. Although plants do not produce antibodies in response to foreign antigens, plants do exhibit some of the features of the immune response exhibited by vertebrates. Nevertheless, plant components, proteins, glycoproteins, and polysaccharides are usually excellent antigens.
