Comparative study of the agglutinogens of the endospores of Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cereus.

Potentially, antigen-antibody reactions are a means for the specific identification of species. However, no such means are presently available to distinguish between cultures of Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cereus (Brown et al., 1958 a, b). The serological investigations conducted have not exhausted all the possibilities for trial. Only serological studies comparing the vegetative phases of B. cereus and B. anthracis have been recorded. Bacterial endospores possess antigens distinct from those of parent vegetative organisms, and it has been shown that the antigenic structure of bacterial endospores may be sufficiently specific to have taxonomic value (Lamanna, 1940a, b). For these reasons we have undertaken a comparative study of agglutinins against spores of strains of B. anthracis and B. cereus to learn whether or not these antibodies can provide for a means for differentiation between the two organisms.