Detection of a novel fimbrial structure on the surface of Salmonella enteritidis by using a monoclonal antibody.

A fimbrialike structure expressed on the surface of Salmonella enteritidis was identified by using a monoclonal antibody (69/25) produced against intact S. enteritidis cells. Fimbriae were less than 5 nm in diameter and carried a protein consisting of subunits with a molecular weight of 14,300. No hemagglutinating activity associated with the fimbriae was detected. An epitope on the fimbrial antigen identified by monoclonal antibody 69/25 was expressed by all 58 S. enteritidis strains, 12 of 36 S. dublin strains, and a single strain of S. moscow examined. None of 169 other isolates tested from 17 salmonella serogroups expressed this epitope.