COMPARISON OF THE PROTEIN-COMPOSITION OF ERYSIPELOTHRIX-RHUSIOPATHIAESTRAINS OF SUBTYPE 1A ISOLATED FROM DUCKS AND PIGS

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae strains isolated from duck carcasses and pigs were examined by sodium dodecyl sulphate - polyacrylamide gel ele ctrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and the results were evaluated by a computeris ed method in order to compare the strains for protein composition acco rding to molecular mass. To characterise the similarity of the strains , Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated. The degree of simi larity between duck strains originating from the same flock was 980-99 1, while that of strains isolated from ducks and pigs varied between 8 36 and 991 on a scale of 0 to 1000. The method gives highly reproducib le results and can be utilised in epidemiological investigations. Its use may provide new data on E. rhusiopathiae strains, complementing th e results of methods recommended for this purpose earlier and increasi ng the efficiency of epidemiological investigations.