VIEW ARTICLE

Techniques

Computer-Enhanced Image Analysis of Bacterial Polypeptide Patterns on Two-Dimensional Polyacrylamide Gels. H. E. Moline, Horticultural Crops Quality Laboratory, Horticultural Science Institute, and Instrumentation Research Laboratory, Sensors and Control Systems Institute, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705.; W. R. Hruschka, Horticultural Crops Quality Laboratory, Horticultural Science Institute, and Instrumentation Research Laboratory, Sensors and Control Systems Institute, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705. Phytopathology 77:745-747. Accepted for publication 10 November 1986. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1987. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-77-745.

Comparisons of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) profiles of Erwinia carotovora pv. carotovora, E. c. pv. atroseptica, E. chrysanthemi, E. rhapontici, E. herbicola, and E. amylovora were made by transferring gel images to a Hewlett-Packard 1000F minicomputer interfaced to a Grinnell 270 image processor. Computer-enhanced image analysis produced gel maps that revealed polypeptides common to all bacterial strains studied, as well as polypeptides that were species specific. Although all bacterial strains studied shared a number of polypeptides, significant differences were observed between E. c. pv. carotovora, E. c. pv. atroseptica, and other species analyzed, allowing differentiation. Computer-enhanced image analysis increased the sensitivity of protein comparisons on the 2-D PAGE gels more than threefold over visual comparisons.