Antigenic fingerprinting of methanogenic bacteria with polyclonal antibody probes.

A system is described for constructing a reference chart of antigenic fingerprints of methanogens as a possible guide in identification of new isolates. The chart is easy to use and can accommodate into each fingerprint additional data that will be provided by new antisera, and more fingerprints as other reference bacteria will be studied, without changes in its format or accumulated contents. This ensures a perennial force to the chart as a reference instrument, and allows increase of its resolution power for bacterial identification. Based on this chart, a procedure is described for rapid identification of newly isolated methanogens and comparison of antigenic mosaics expressed on their surfaces. The procedure involves determination of the antigenic fingerprint and tabulation of the data for comparison with those in the chart. The main feature of the fingerprinting method is the use of a panel of antibody probes calibrated to reveal dominant antigens. As the probes reveal the most conspicuous markers in the antigenic mosaic they also delineate the most pronounced antigenic relationships among methanogens. Although the methods reported were developed for study of methanogens with polyclonal antibody probes, they can be applied to any other group of organisms with antigenic mosaics and to studies with panels of monoclonal antibodies.