Genetic control of the immune response of guinea pigs to limiting doses of bovine serum albumin: relationship to the poly-L-lysine gene.

The response of strain 2 guinea pigs to limiting doses of bovine serum albumin is under dominant genetic control linked with the poly-L-lysine gene. Inbred strains 2 and 13 guinea pigs make similar antibody responses to 10 mug bovine serum albumin, whereas strain 2 but not strain 13 animals produce significant amounts of antibodies in response to 0.1 mug. The relationship between the presence of the poly-L-lysine gene and the ability to respond to limiting doses of bovine serum albumin has also been investigated in random-bred Hartley strain guinea pigs.