Electrophoretic analysis of heterogeneous lipopolysaccharides from various strains of Vibrio vulnificus biotypes 1 and 2 by silver staining and immunoblotting.

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of 11 strains of Vibrio vulnificus biotypes 1 and 2, isolated from an eel farm, and of 10 reference strains, were examined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis coupled with silver staining and immunoblotting. LPS samples were obtained from whole-cell lysates, outer membrane fragments, and extracellular products. By silver staining, only a diffuse band of low-molecular weight could be visualized in all cases except for a biotype 1 strain isolated from water. However, immunoblotting with antisera obtained against strains of biotypes 1 and 2 from eels allowed visualization of multiple O-polysaccharide chains. All biotype 2 strains, independently of their origins, belonged to the same serotype and presented the same LPS profile, whereas eel isolates of biotype 1 were serologically identical and different from the rest of tested strains of biotype 1. This is the first report of LPSs with a ladder-like structure in Vibrio vulnificus.