In article <2tn00q$hbf at news.uni-c.dk>, kvlxthlu at unidhp.uni-c.dk (Torben
Lundsgaard) wrote:
> By immunogold labelling of yeast cells I use antibodies from rabbits as
> the primary antibody followed by swine-anti-rabbit IgG-gold complex as
> secondary antibody. When using rabbit pre-immune serum for control I
> clearly detect label in the yeast (Sacch. cer.) cell walls.
>> Is it possible that the rabbit used could have had some infection
> provoking antibodies recognizing yeast cell wall antigens?
>> Or do anybody have another reasonable explanation?
One possibility is that the rabbit had contact with S. cerevisiae before.
This can be in the form of an infection or as part of the diet. Some rabbit
diets contain yeast extract, and rabbits that have been fed on such a diet
are useless if you want to raise antibodies against a yeast protein.
The best strategy is to screen a large number of pre-immune rabbits for
antibodies against S. cerevisiae total cell extract and then pick the ones
where the preimmune serum does not crossreact. If all your rabbits
crossreact it is almost certain that they have been fed on yeast extract.
Good luck,
Martin
--
Dr. Martin Latterich
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and
Dptm. of Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California,
Berkeley, CA 94706
USA
mdhouse at mendel.berkeley.edu
