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A serovar or serotype is a group of microorganisms or viruses based on their cell surface antigens. Serovars allow the epidemiologic classification of organisms to the sub-species level. [1] A group of serovars with common antigens is called a serogroup.
Serovars may be established based on virulence factors, lipopolysaccharides in Gram-negative bacteria, presence of an exotoxin (pertussis toxin in Bordetella pertussis, for example), plasmids, phages, or other characteristics which differentiate two members of the same species. [1][2]
Salmonella, for example, has over 4400 serovars: Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, S. enterica serovar Typhi, and S. enterica serovar Dublin, to name a few.[2]
Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera, has 139 serotypes, based on cell antigens. Only two of them produce an enterotoxin and are pathogens: 0:1 and 0:139.
Serotypes were discovered by the American microbiologist Rebecca Lancefield in 1933.[3]
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