The conserved terminal region of Trichoderma reesei cellulases forms a strong antigenic epitope for polyclonal antibodies.

The specificity of polyclonal antibodies (Pab) raised against Trichoderma reesei cellulases has been studied. cDNAs lacking regions coding for certain functional domains were produced by preparing series of 3'-end deletions from the cDNAs for two cellobiohydrolases, CBH I and CBH II, and an endoglucanase, EG I. The proteins coded by the full length cDNAs and the truncated proteins coded by the deleted cDNAs were expressed in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, under the control of the ADC1 promoter. Each polyclonal antiserum showed cross-reactivity with other cellulases. Pabs for CBH I and CBH II both recognized EG I. Pab for EG I strongly recognized both CBH I and CBH II. By analyzing the truncated proteins, we found that these antibodies were almost entirely directed against the conserved tail of the cellulase enzymes.