Characterization of coccidial proteins by two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Two dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D SDS-PAGE) has been used to produce 'fingerprint' maps of the proteins from each of the 7 species of Eimeria which infect the chicken. All 7 species could be identified from their array of polypeptides but few differences were detected between strains of the same species. Alterations to the polypeptide array associated with the stage of sporulation of the oocysts were observed. Iodination of sporozoites, 2D SDS-PAGE, autoradiography and immunoblotting techniques were combined to identify polypeptides with a surface moiety and those which were antigenic.