Metabolic characterization of the genus Brucella. II. Oxidative metabolic patterns of the described biotypes.

Meyer, Margaret E. (University of California, Davis), and H. S. Cameron. Metabolic characterization of the genus Brucella. II. Oxidative metabolic patterns of the described biotypes. J. Bacteriol. 82:396-400. 1961.-The oxidative metabolism of the biotypes of Brucella abortus and Brucella suis was compared to that of typical strains of these species. It was found that the biotypes of B. abortus display a metabolic pattern identical to that of B. abortus type I, irrespective of their differences in susceptibility to the bacteriostatic action of basic fuchsin and thionin. It was also found that a characteristic feature which distinguishes all of the biotypes of B. suis from the other species was their ability to oxidize l-arginine, dl-citrulline, and dl-ornithine. The three biotypes of B. suis can be differentiated from each other by discrete differences in their utilization of l-lysine and l-glutamic acid. Data on the oxidative rates obtained on eight amino acid and four carbohydrate substrates by 47 strains of the described biotypes are presented in support of these conclusions.