Use of isoelectric focusing of bacterial proteins for characterisation of strains of motile anaerobic "corroding" bacteria isolated from soft tissue infections in cats and dogs.

Isoelectric focusing of bacterial proteins in 1 mm thick agarose gels and ultrastructural analysis of cell walls were used to facilitate characterisation of motile "corroding" bacteria from subcutaneous abscesses and pyothorax infections from cats and dogs. Some of the motile "corroding" rods had ultrastructural cell wall features identical with Wolinella recta described from human periodontal pockets. Other strains had the more conventional cell wall ultrastructure of Gram negative bacteria. Isoelectric focusing of bacterial proteins divided the motile "corroding" strains into two groups. These groups correlated with the ultrastructural appearance of the cell walls. It is considered that isoelectric focusing techniques using 1 mm thick agarose gels may provide a more rapid method for ultimate differentiation of these organisms than other methods described so far.