LUFTPOST
PAR AVION

 

 

STATENS SERUMINSTITUT
DIRECTOR: J. ORSKOV, M.D.
COPENHAGEN S. — DENMARK

TELEPHONE: ASTA 2817

TELEGRAMS: STATSSERUM, COPENHAGEN Copenhagen, Sept.25, 1958

Dr. J.Lederberg

Dept. of Genetics
University of Wisconsin
Madison 6, Wisconsin

 

Dear Esther & Josh,

Thanks for your card from Bergen; we were glad to hear that you at least
in Norway had some nice weather.

The migration of people from the Stockholm congress through our lab is now
coming to an end and we are trying to settle down for some work.

As to the F sera which we promised to send,we are a little reluctant to do
it just now as some recent experiments have given us some doubt to the effect
that what we call F agglutination could be a result of greater autoagglutinabili-
ty of the F+ colonies. As soon as these experiments are finished and if they

make us certain of the existe of awF antibody in our F sera we shall send You
@ specimen.

As far as we can see from our correspondance we sent You data on a new
cross between W3473 F+ =x W3703 Hpron April 26 this year. In the same letter
were included data on a cross W34/78 x 3703 carried out on EMrham. About the new
K-factor can be said the following. In the cross W3703 x W3473 all recombinants
which have received the O-antigen from the F+ parent are partly inagglutinable
in O-serum W161] and inagglutinable in O-serum 0 loo. The strain W3703 is fully
agglutinable in O-serum W1611. This means that these recombinants have acquired
an inagglutinability - factor which according to the definition should be called
a K-antigen. This K antigen is not the one found in K+ forms isolated from the
parent strains of W370% and W1611, neither is it the K of the 0 loo strain.

An OK serum pro@taaa. with one of the recombinants having this new K-antigen
does not agglutinate either the K+ form of 0 loo nor the K+ form of W161l. As
we told you we are planning to set up new crosses between strains with known
L, B and A antigens.

Further we include a more complete and slightly revised table which should
replace table 8 in our report.

As far as we can see we can not do more for the moment to complete our
share of our joined effort.

With the best wishes to yourself and to friends in Madison

Yours,

& We