ABSTRACT: Six monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) produced against whole cells of Photobacterium damsela subspecies piscicida were tested against 48 strains of the bacterium from Europe, Japan and the Middle East in a serological study by Western blot analysis. Four of these MAbs (WE14, WE15, WE12 and WE3) reacted with low molecular weight material (of lipopolysacharide nature). These were present in all the strains tested (with only one exception, Japanese strain SP92065) and the only differences noted between strains were of a quantitative nature. MAb VP4, which is directed against a 78 kDa cell protein, also reacted with all strains tested except SP92065. Interestingly, differences in reaction were noted with MAb WE9, which reacts with a range of proteins. These differences were particularly marked between the Japanese and European strains tested.

KEY WORDS: Photobacterium damsela subsp. piscicida · Fish pasteurellosis · Serology · Monoclonal antibodies · Western blot

Published in DAO Vol. 28, No. 1 (1997) on January 16
ISSN: 0177-5103. Copyright © Inter-Research, Oldendorf/Luhe, 1997