Nutrition of Vibrio fetus.

Smibert, Robert M. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va.). Nutrition of Vibrio fetus. J. Bacteriol. 85:394-398. 1963.-A chemically defined medium has been developed for the cultivation of both catalase-positive H(2)S-negative and catalase-positive H(2)S-positive strains of Vibrio fetus. A total of 87 strains of V. fetus, representing bovine, ovine, porcine, human, and chicken isolates, were grown in both semisolid and liquid defined media. The medium was also used to isolate V. fetus from the stomach contents of aborted bovine fetuses. The strains investigated did not require purines or pyrimidines. They required nicotinic acid, and were stimulated by other B vitamins. There was considerable variation in the amino acid requirements of V. fetus. Some strains required only one amino acid, and others required many more. The final complete medium contained 18 amino acids and supported growth of all 87 strains. There was no significant correlation between amino acid requirements and source of isolation or biochemical characteristics of V. fetus.