ANTIGENIC STRUCTURE OFACTINOMYCETALESVI

Kwapinski, J. B. (University of New England, Armidale, N.S.W., Australia). Antigenic structure of Actinomycetales. VI. Serological relationships between antigenic fractions of Actinomyces and Nocardia. J. Bacteriol. 86:179-186. 1963.-A total of 52 chemical fractions were obtained by a comprehensive technique of preparation from three strains of Actinomyces and three strains of Nocardia. The chemical and serological structures and specificities of disintegrated cells, cell walls, cytoplasms, and individual fractions were thoroughly studied. Cytoplasmic materials were found to be serologically alike or identical. The polysaccharide fractions, extracted from cell walls with alkali, formamide, and phenol, proved to be serologically related. Fractions prepared from the Nocardia by extractions in hot and concentrated solutions of acetic acid and sodium hydroxide, as well as the second protein fraction and the acetate-extracted polysaccharides of both the Nocardia and Actinomyces, proved to be genus-specific.