DETERMINING LACTOCOCCAL AGGLUTINATION BY ELISA

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to determin e the susceptibility of Lactococcus cultures to bind bovine milk IgM, IgG and IgA. Agglutination susceptible (agg(+)) cultures bound high (P <0.05) concentrations of IgM, IgG and IgA, whereas agglutination resis tant (agg(-)) strains bound less. The agglutination variable (agg(+)) cultures differed from the agglutination resistant (agg(-)) cultures o nly in their ability to bind IgG. The ELISA was a reliable indicator o f agglutination susceptibility for mixed as well as single strain cult ures. Laser Scanning Microscopy (LSM) was used to verify results of EL ISA. The IgG ELISA described here may provide a rapid, sensitive and a reliable method for identification and selection of agg(-) cultures.