Phenotypic differentiation of members of the family Vibrionaceae using miniaturized biochemical tests.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of 27 different chromogenic substrates and the assimilation of 44 carbon sources by 144 strains of Vibrio species of clinical importance, Aeromonas hydrophila and Plesiomonas shigelloides were studied by standardized micromethods. Some classical biochemical tests were also performed using the test kit TTE-AS (Flow Laboratories GmbH, Meckenheim, FRG). Reading of results was done automatically by a photometer and test data were recorded and stored by a microcomputer. All species investigated could be differentiated using a set of 16 miniaturized biochemical tests which are: Indole production, esculin hydrolysis, lysine decarboxylase, ornithine decarboxylase, arginine dihydrolase, fermentation of sucrose, enzymatic hydrolysis of o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside, gamma-L-glutamic acid-p-nitroanilide and the assimilation of L-arabinose, D-cellobiose, D-mannose, sucrose, D-mannitol, i-inositol, acetate and DL-lactate. Comparing the TTE-AS tests to conventional test results, 94.4% overall agreement was found. 87.6% of the miniaturized assimilation tests agreed to literature data. The described tests are easy to perform and seem to be suitable for routine laboratory use.