Heat-stable serogroup-specific proteins of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.

A library of mAbs to the species- and serogroup-specific epitopes of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis serogroups I-VI was developed. These mAbs recognized linear sequential protein epitopes, as shown by ELISA and immunoblotting. Using the mAbs, Y. pseudotuberculosis was found to produce serogroup-specific proteins, whose synthesis was dependent on cultivation temperature. These proteins appeared to be parts of heat-stable O-antigens prepared by heating Y. pseudotuberculosis serogroups I-VI at 100 degrees C for 2 h, and are responsible for the protein serotype specificity of these bacteria. The high specificity of serogroup- or species-specific mAbs obtained in ELISA suggests that they may be effective for serotyping of Y. pseudotuberculosis strains or differentiation from other pathogenic yersiniae.