An immunological assay for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase.

We report the production and utility of rabbit polyclonal antisera to the bacterial protein chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT). The anti-CAT antibodies specifically react with CAT protein produced in bacterial or avian cells. Results reported here demonstrate that detection of CAT by immuno-dot blot techniques is at least as sensitive as the currently used in vitro enzymatic assay. The availability of antibodies to CAT offers a number of potential advantages to investigators who now use the CAT gene to study factors influencing gene regulation.