Identification of a 32-kilodalton protein of Mycoplasma pneumoniae associated with hemadsorption.

Monoclonal antibodies directed against a 32-kilodalton (kDa) protein of Mycoplasma pneumoniae have been used to characterize a hemadsorption-negative (HA-) mutant class whose protein profile was previously indistinguishable from the wild-type, hemadsorbing (HA+) strain. Electron microscopy and colloidal gold labeling techniques were applied for ultrastructural analysis of the 32-kDa protein. Results indicate that this protein clusters in the tip structure of M. pneumoniae (HA+) wild-type organisms. Additionally, the protein is precipitated by infected hamster sera.