title: Unusually strong immunological cross-reaction between elongation factor Tu of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis.
abstract: Polyclonal antibodies were prepared against the purified elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. Using the methods of Western blotting and microcomplement fixation the cross-reactivities of EF-Tu of 19 different prokaryotes were determined. The immunological distance were compared with the results of 16S rRNA oligonucleotide analysis. An unexpectedly high cross-reactivity was revealed between the EF-Tu of B. subtilis and the antiserum against the EF-Tu of E. coli. A comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences from the tufgenes of E. coli and B. subtilis yielded two identical peptide fragments that are likely candidates for antibody binding sites.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie, Technische Universität München, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wenzig
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Schleifer
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D007106:Immune Sera; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010444:Peptide Elongation Factor Tu / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D007106:Immune Sera; D010444:Peptide Elongation Factor Tu