Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T04:55:53.743Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Serological studies of Bacteroides fragilis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

K. M. Elhag
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Microbiology, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London EC1A 7BE
K. A. Bettelheim
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Microbiology, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London EC1A 7BE
Soad Tabaqchali
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Microbiology, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London EC1A 7BE
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Using direct agglutination methods, a simple serological scheme for the classification of Bacteroides fragilis is described. Twenty strains of B. fragilis were selected by a process of successive screening from 151 strains obtained from various sources. O-antigens were prepared from the 20 strains, and used to raise antisera in rabbits.

Each of the 20 antisera reacted with its homologous antigen and eight antisera cross-reacted with other subspecies. These cross-reactions were successfully removed after absorption of the antisera with the cross-reacting antigens, resulting in 19 type-specific antisera, titres ranging from 40 to 320, and 19 distinct serotypes of B. fragilis. There was no correlation between the antigenic and the biochemical characteristics of these strains and no cross-reactions occurred with other gram-negative anaerobes, B. melaninogenicus, Sphaerophorus necrophorus and Fuso-bacterium necrogenes.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1977

References

REFERENCES

Beerens, H., Wattre, P., Shinjo, T. & Romond, Ch. (1971). Premiers resultats d'un essai de classification sérologique de 131 souches de Bacteroides du groupe fragilis (Eggerthella). Annals de l'Institut Pasteur (Paris) 121, 187–98.Google ScholarPubMed
Bettelheim, K. A. (1969). Investigation into the pathogenicity of E. coli in human infections. Ph.D. thesis, University of London.Google Scholar
Cato, E. P., Cummins, C. S., Holdeman, L. V., Johnson, J. L., Moore, W. E. C., Smibert, R. M. & Smith, L. D. S. (1970). Outline of Clinical Methods in Anaerobic Bacteriology, 2nd revision. Blacksburg, Virginia.Google Scholar
Finegold, S. M. (1968). Infections due to anaerobes. Medical Times 96, 174–87.Google Scholar
Finegold, S. M. (1974). Infection due to anaerobic organisms other than clostridia. Practice of Medicine, vol. III, chapter 27. Hagerstown, Maryland: Harper and Row Publishers Inc.Google Scholar
Gorbach, S. L. & Bartlett, J. G. (1974). Anaerobic infections. New England Journal of Medicine 290, 1237–45.Google Scholar
Holdeman, L. V. & Moore, W. E. C. (1974). Bacteroidaceae. Burgey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (co-eds. Buchanan, R. E. and Gibbon, N. E.), ed. 8. Baltimore: William and Wilkins Co.Google Scholar
Holdeman, L. V. & Moore, W. E. C. (editors), (1972). Anaerobic Laboratory Manual, VPI Anaerobe Laboratory, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia.Google Scholar
Kasper, D. L. (1976). Chemical and biological characterization of the lipopolysaccharide of Bacteroides fragilis subspecies fragilis. Journal of Infectious Diseases 134, 5966.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kauffmann, F. (1944). Untersuchungen über die Körper-Antigene der Coli-Bakterien. Acta Pathologica et Microbiologica Scandinavica 21, 4664.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kauffmann, F. (1947). The serology of the coli group. Journal of Immunology 57, 71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lambe, D. W. & Moroz, P. A. (1976). Serogrouping of Bacteroides fragilis subsp. fragilis by agglutination test. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 3, 586–92.Google Scholar
Mitchell, A. A. B. (1973). Incidence and isolation of Bacteroides species from clinical material and their sensitivity to antibiotics. Journal of Clinical Pathology 26, 738–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sharpe, M. E. (1971). Serology of rumen Bacteroides. Journal of General Microbiology 67, 273–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sonnerwirth, A. C. (1960). A study of certain Gram-negative non-sporulating anaerobic bacteria indigenous to man, with special reference to their classification by serological means. Thesis, Washington University, University microfilms Publ. no. 60–4699 (Ann Arbor, Michigan); Dissertation Abstracts 21, 1336.Google Scholar
Sonnerwirth, A. C. & Rosebury, T. (1960). Haemagglutination and gel-diffusion with so-called Bacteroides antigens. Bacteriological Proceedings 80.Google Scholar
Starr, S. E., Thompson, F. S., Dowell, V. R. & Balows, A. (1973). Micro-method system for identification of anaerobic bacteria. Applied Microbiology 25, 713–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werner, H. (1969). Das serologische Verhalten von Stämmen der Species Bacteroides convexus, B. thetaiotaomicron, B. vulgatus, und B. distasonis. Zentralblatt für Bakteriologie, Parasitenkunde, Infektionskrankheiten und Hygiene. I. Abt., originale, 210, 192201.Google ScholarPubMed
Werner, H. (1972). A serological study of strains belonging to Sphaerophorus necrophorus, Sph. varius and Sph. freundii. Medical Microbiology and Immunology 157, 315–24.Google Scholar