Enzyme evolution in the Enterobacteriaceae.

An immunological approach has been used for the study of alkaline phosphatase evolution in bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. Antisera were prepared against alkaline phosphatase from Escherichia coli and Klebsiella aerogenes and tested against the unpurified alkaline phosphatases of 32 strains of enterobacteria by double diffusion and quantitative micro-complement fixation. The immunological relationships detected among the alkaline phosphatases of enterobacteria agree approximately with those reported for five other enzymes, as well as with the tryptic peptide pattern similarities found for two other enzymes, and with the relationships detected by interspecific deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization tests.