Immunological anomalies associated with the identification of nodule bacteria

Immunological and electrophoretic methods for the identification of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii (R. trifolii) strain were assessed with two standard R. trifolii strains (WU95 and NA3001) and two native R. trifolii isolates (4.13 and 7.15). Antisera developed in sheep against 4.13 and 7.15 failed to react against the homologous antigen when tested by whole cell agglutination, gel immune diffusion and immunoblot ELISA. However, these isolates were differentiated from WU95 and NA3001 by SDS-PAGE.