[Comparative study of the antigenic composition of Brucella canis strains by immunoblotting]

Brucella cultures isolated from sick dogs have not been properly studied in Russia up to the present time. In 1994 a culture has been isolated from aborted fetus of a dog. Investigations by the traditional methods referred it to Brucella genus, species canis (strain K-01). Reference strain B. canis RM6/66 and B. canis K-01 were identical by the profiles of protein antigens in immunoblotting with a set of antibrucellosis sera. B. canis, B. suis, B. abortus, and B. melitensis. However, immunoblotting with sera to B. canis showed the similarity of B. canis cultures with the reference strain B. suis 1330, and use of sera to B. suis, B. abortus, and B. melitensis helped differentiate between the reference B. suis 1330 strain and B. canis strains. All the antisera used permitted the differentiation of Brucella strains from Yersinia enterocolitica 0:9, Escherichia coli 0:157, and Salmonella typhimurium cross reacting with Brucella in serological tests. Immunoblotting is a promising taxonomic criterion for identification of newly detected representatives of the Brucella genus.