Lw. Mutharia et al., ANTIBODY SPECIFICITIES OF POLYCLONAL RABBIT AND RAINBOW-TROUT ANTISERA AGAINST VIBRIO-ORDALII AND SEROTYPE-0 2 STRAINS OF VIBRIO-ANGUILLARUM/, Canadian journal of microbiology, 39(5), 1993, pp. 492-499
Polyclonal rabbit antisera raised against Vibrio ordalii and serotype
02 strains of Vibrio anguillarum showed extensive cross-reactivity wit
h lipopolysaccharide from these bacterial pathogens of fish when teste
d in western immunoblot analysis. Results with absorbed polyclonal ant
isera indicated that lipopolysaccharide molecules from these strains h
ad both common and strain-specific antigenic determinants, which allow
ed the antisera to be used to differentiate between V. ordalii and ser
otype O2 strains of V. anguillarum. Unlike rabbits, the immune respons
e in rainbow trout to serotype 02 common antigenic epitopes was depend
ent on the source of the immunizing lipopolysaccharide antigens. Serum
from fish immunized with V. ordalii antigens reacted more extensively
with serotype 02 common antigens. In contrast, fish anti-V. anguillar
um 02 serum did not interact with O antigens from the V. ordalii strai
ns. Lipopolysaccharide from V. anguillarum serotype 02 and 02a strains
showed identical antibody binding properties when interacted with rab
bit or fish antiserum to either V. anguillarum 02 or V. ordalii. Lipop
olysaccharide from V. anguillarum 02b strains did not interact with th
e tested rabbit or fish polyclonal sera. The results from this study s
uggest that fish and rabbits recognise different antigenic determinant
s in lipopolysaccharide from V. ordalii and serotpye 02 V. anguillarum
strains; that V. ordalli and serotype 02 strains of V. anguillarum sh
ould be regarded as distinct serotype 02 subgroups based on the strain
-specific antigenic determinants; and finally that the serological cla
ssification of V. anguillarum serotype 02b strains should be reexamine
d.