Capillary electrophoretic analysis of wild type and mutant Proteus penneriouter membrane proteins

in this study the virulence factors, outer membrane proteins (OMP), lipopol ysaccharides (LPS), hemolysin, and the in vivo and in vitro virulence of wi ld-type Proteus penneri 357 and its two isogenic mutant variants - a transp oson and a spontaneous mutant - were examined. The OMPs of these variants w ere analyzed by a new and fast technique, "dynamic sieving" capillary elect rophoresis (CE). The OMP profiles were dominated by two peaks (39 and 43 kD a). In the P. penneri clone examined, both the transposon and the spontaneo us mutations induced significant changes in the OMP patterns (in the relati ve percentage of the dominant proteins). CE was suitable for the comparativ e analysis of bacterial protein patterns in the genetic variants of this st rain, and provided valuable results in connection with the bacteriological virulence. The LPS composition of the genetic variants also showed alterati ons. The wild type of P. penneri 357 showed a typical ladder pattern, an "S " form, and the mutants possessed "R" LPS patterns (only few bands) in the gels. In the bacteriological virulence tests the wild type of P. penneri 35 7 was virulent in the in vivo, and toxic in the in vitro assays, while both mutants showed neither toxicity nor pathogenicity.