Streptococcus iniae expresses a cell surface non-immune trout immunoglobulin-binding factor when grown in normal trout serum

Three capsulated isolates of S. iniae representing serotype I and II and being arginine dihydrolase positive, negative or variable (AD+ve, AD-ve, AD+-ve) were investigated for their ability to bind rainbow trout serum immunoglobulin by the Fc region. Using a coagglutination assay with bacteria grown in Todd-Hewitt broth (THB), no evidence of non-specific Fc-binding of trout immunoglobulin (Ig) was obtained. However, when grown in normal trout serum, all isolates produced similar protein patterns in SDS-PAGE, but they were markedly different from the patterns of the bacteria grown in THB. Some bands with MW 70 kDa and over 100 kDa were very intense in the profiles of the serum-grown isolates. In Western blots, these bands of all isolates were immunostained with the conjugated goat antiserum to trout Ig, after blocking with normal goat serum, demonstrating that the bacteria had bound the trout Ig during growth in the serum. When the isolates were grown overnight in trout antiserum against Lactococcus garvieae they coagglutinated with L. garvieae cells but S. iniae isolates grown in normal trout serum did not. These data indicate that S. iniae grown in serum express surface factors which can bind trout Ig by the Fc-region. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.