Monoclonal antibody E8-18 identifies an integral membrane surface protein unique to Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae.

Monoclonal antibody (MAb) E8-18 reacted with four isolates of Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae in Western blots identifying an epitope on a 24 kDa antigen (p24). MAb E8-18 did not react with 11 isolates belonging to four other Mycoplasma species or subspecies closely related to M. capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae. A combination of trypsin treatment of intact organisms and detergent-phase partitioning revealed p24 to be an integral M. capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae surface membrane protein.