AN IMPROVED IMMUNOBLOTTING TECHNIQUE FOR THE SERODIAGNOSIS OF BRUCELLA-OVIS INFECTIONS

Two antigen preparations, the routinely used Brucella ovis sodium dode cylsulfate-mercapto ethanol extract and a B. ovis Triton X-114-derived detergent-rich phase, were compared under standard conditions for the ir use in electrophoretic immunoblotting for confirmatory, serological testing for B. ovis infections, by using 88 sera from ram flocks with a history of freedom from B. ovis infections, 80 sera from chronicall y infected rams, which were shedding B. ovis in their semen at the tim e of sampling, and 104 sera from a naturally infected ram flock. Blots with the detergent-rich phase as antigen gave better correlation with the serological results from naturally infected rams, exhibited no no n-specific staining with sera from the negative group, gave clearer vi sualisation of specific bands for positive sera, and were equally sens itive when compared to the standard antigen for sera from chronically infected rams.