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In the course of developing a live vaccine, we generated three murine monoclonal antibodies (MAb) specific for Shigella sonnei. The specificities of these MAb were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblot analyses with whole cells or purified lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) as antigens. Two of them are specific for the Shigella serotype D O-polysaccharide determinant, whereas one specifically binds to the core hexose region of R1-type LPSs. With these MAb, it was possible to analyze clinical isolates and a hybrid Salmonella typhi strain for their expression of the corresponding LPS moieties. In addition to their use in the screening of candidate vaccine strains, the new MAb provide a powerful tool for epidemiological and phylogenetic studies of natural enterobacterial populations.