Abstract
Sixteen strains of Bacteroides fragilis were examined for the presence of fimbriae and hemagglutinability. All of the strains had fimbriae. No strains agglutinated guinea pig, rabbit or sheep erythrocytes and only 3 strains agglutinated chicken erythrocytes. The hemagglutinating ability was inhibited by heating at 80°C for 20 min and by homogenizing with a high-speed homogenizer, while it was unaffected by either the presence of mannose and other carbohydrates or treatment with trypsin, EDTA or periodate.
