Abstract
The antigenicity of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae T28 (serotype 2) was investigated. Antigens were solubilized from the cell surface with detergents. By means of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting it was shown that the molecular weight of the main antigenic component--a nonprotein--was 14,000 to 22,000. This major antigen was shown to be a polydisperse anionic polysaccharide located on the surface of E. rhusiopathiae. Affinity chromatography also revealed a number of immunologically active proteins with molecular weights of 78,000, 72,000, 68,000, and 48,000.