Somatic and flagellar antigens ofSerratia ficaria from the United States and the Mediterranean region

Somatic (O) and flagellar (H) antigens of 37Serratia ficaria strains were studied. All strains shared a common H antigen (H1). Four O antigens were identified that defined four serovars (O1:H1, O2:H1, O3:H1, and O4:H1). All American strains studied (isolated from the fig-fig wasp biological cycle or from a human patient) belonged to serotype O1:H1. Strains from the Mediterranean region (Sicily, Tunisia, France) were not so antigenically uniform and all four serotypes were found in figs from Sicily.