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A total of 140 out of 144 motile Plesiomonas shigelloides strains were typable with the aid of a set of 15 H-antisera designated by letter symbols a through o. Commonly, strains of different O-serovars turned out to share the identical H-antigen and for some O-serovars it was typical to possess the certain type of H-antigen, as e.g. strains of serovar 017 which all have been to date characterized by the presence of H-antigens c, d or f. This set of 15 H-sera together with the previously described O-antigenic scheme of Plesiomonas may help to determine the frequency rates of OH serovars.

A total of 24 strains of microorganisms with basic marks relating them to the family of Vibrionaceae were isolated from human faeces, liquid sewage and waters of surface reservoirs contaminated with sewage. The study of biological, cultural and biochemical characteristics, determination of phenotypic similarity according to Adanson-Sneath, investigation of DNA composition and extent of DNA hybridization by the methods of gene taxonomy induced us to establish taxonomic independence of the discovered strains at the level of the genus Allomonas gen. nov. with so far the only species A. enterica sp. nov.

With a set of 30 O-antisera, O-antigens were identified in 80% of 158 Plesiomonas shigelloides strains. Only strains of one serovar (018) regularly contained capsular antigen that caused their inagglutinability in the live state. Two groups of serovars displayed some O-antigenic relationship: 03 and 029; 08, 011 and 012. Each serovar in either group possessed a specific O-antigen and "group-common" minor antigens, which were designated I, II and III. Serovar 017 possessed O-antigen identical with that of Shigella sonnei phase I; this serovar was the most frequent one. Some serovars seemed to be ubiquitous; this was indicated by their wide geographic distribution and findings in man, domestic and feral animals, and water.