Reactivity of monoclonal antibodies to Rickettsia rickettsii with spotted fever and typhus group rickettsiae.

Analysis of 15 spotted fever group (SFG) and 2 typhus group strains of rickettsiae with a panel of monoclonal antibodies revealed a number of shared and unique epitopes of the 120- and 155-kilodalton surface proteins. All of the SFG strains but neither of the typhus group strains reacted with antibody to the lipopolysaccharidelike antigen of Rickettsia rickettsii; possibly the lipopolysaccharidelike antigen is the common antigen which defines the SFG. North Carolina and Montana strains of R. rickettsii known to differ slightly in virulence for guinea pigs differed in at least one epitope of the 120-kilodalton protein.