SUMMARY: Antisera to nine strains of Mycoplasma gallisepticumwere prepared in rabbits, chickens and turkeys, the response of individual rabbits or birds varying widely. Minor antigenic differences between some of the strains were shown in metabolic inhibition (m.i.) tests with rabbit antisera. The strains could be divided into at least three subtypes. In general, antibody diminished so that it was barely detectable 6 months after inoculation.
Antibody titres measured by m.i. were lower in chicken and turkey antisera than in rabbit antisera. The choice of the mycoplasma strain to be used in the m.i. test for the measurement of antibody in the bird sera was of fundamental importance since not all strains were capable of detecting antibody; strain T37 was the most useful.
Antibody measured by m.i. was not destroyed by repeated freezing and thawing of antisera, and the antibody titres were not, in general, increased by the addition of unheated guinea-pig serum to the tests. The titres of antibody which inhibited metabolism of the mycoplasma strains were closely similar to those which inhibited their growth in liquid medium. On solid medium, however, some rabbit antisera with high m.i. antibody titres did not inhibit or inhibited poorly the development of colonies of the homologous strains. Only one of the nine rabbit antisera inhibited the development of colonies of all the strains, a feature of importance in mycoplasma identification.
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