Purification of outer membrane protein C (ompC) from Salmonella Gallinarum for characterization of its immunogenicity

Fowl typhoid caused by Salmonella Gallinarum is a severe systemic disease of poultry characterized by high mortality, morbidity, reduced egg production and heavy economic losses due to culling of infected flocks. To investigate antigenicity and immunogenicity, outer membrane protein C (ompC) of S. Gallinarum was extracted, purified and characterized using SDS - polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, western immunoblot analysis and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. All the strains of S. Gallinarum tested showed presence of 39 kDa molecular weight ompC. Western blots revealed high intensity of reactivity of the ompC to anti-rabbit ompC sera and to sera from chickens infected with S. Gallinarum. The onipC (39 kDa) of S. Gallinarum effectively induces an immune response and this protein may have a potential for development of diagnostics and subunit vaccine.