Monoclonal Antibodies Binding to Lipopolysaccharide from the Beer-Spoilage Bacterium Megasphaera cerevisiae Exhibit Panreactivity with the Strictly Anaerobic Gram-Negative Brewing-Related Bacteria

Four mouse hybridomas were isolated that secrete monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) showing surface reactivity for isolates across the three defined serogroups of the strictly anaerobic Gram-negative beer-spoilage bacterium Megasphaera cerevisiae. These Mabs also were found to react with surface-accessible antigens on the other strictly anaerobic Gram-negative brewing-related bacteria in the genera Pectinatus, Propionispira, and Selenomonas. In each case, the target antigen was the bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), with the four Mabs recognizing at least two different antigenic binding sites. Owing to their panreactivity with surface-accessible LPS on the strictly anaerobic Gram-negative brewing-associated bacteria, such Mabs can prove useful in fluorescent immunoassay monitoring of these bacteria in the brewery setting.