Studies on the strains of Erwinia carotovora (Jones) Holland

II. Heat inactivation of flagellar and somatic antigens.

Abstract

1. Researches were made on heat inactivation of flagellar and somatic antigens of Erwinia carotovora against agglutination reaction, with the results mentioned below.
2. Flagellar antigens of 12 serotypes, heated in distilled water at 50° to 80°C for 10min., and agglutinated by their homologous antisera, proved to be inactivated by heating at various degrees of temperatures from 58° to 78°C according to serotypes, these inactivation temperatures being repetitious within a limit of ±1°C.
3. Differences of inactivation temperatures corresponding to antigenic components in a flagellar antigen were demonstrated to exist in same serotypes.
4. In serotype K, the flagellar component a was inactivated at 75°C in the existence of k and c components, although the former was inactivated at 63°C in the case of a alone. This difference of the inactivation temperatures appeared to owe to a mutual effect between the flagellar components of serotype K on the thermal inactivation against agglutination reactions.
5. Somatic antigens of a non-flagellated strain, inactivated by heating at 55°C for ten minutes, lost their agglutinativity.
6. In most serotypes, isolates agglutinated with O-antiserum prepared by injections of bacteria heated at 100°C for one hour were lesser in number than those agglutinated with OH serum. But, in serotype D, this relation was reverse.
These were responses due to the layer construction of somatic antigen components