| Abstract: | The ontogeny of haemolytic complement in rabbit serum and the genetic differences of the activity in five strains of adult rabbits were investigated by single radial haemolysis in gel and a microtiter method with purified complement components and the appropriate haemolytic intermediate cells. The haemolytic complement activity was found as early as the 15th day of foetal life, and increased with age reaching approximately adult level by the 120th day of life. Marked strain differences in both total haemolytic activity and C3 levels of adult rabbit sera were observed. The repeatability of haemolytic activity for an individual serum taken at different times was higher than that for C3 level was observed. An inherited complement deficiency, due to the lack of C6, was found in a strain of Angora rabbits. The genetic studies confirmed that this complement defect was transmitted as an autosomal recessive trait. |
