Production and degradation of indole by gram-negative bacteria.

The indole reaction is performed in various modifications with regard both to the reagents and to the media used. Especially the medium has hitherto attracted little attention and there are divergent recommendations for its composition. The comparison of some broths without and with addition of tryptophan after incubation with different indole-positive species revealed that tryptone without tryptophan yielded stronger reactions than with tryptophan added. Other broths showed stronger reactions with tryptophan. Investigations revealed that numerous indole-positive as well as indole-negative species possess an enzyme system degrading indole. It is induced after one or two days of incubation and acts slowly. All species of the Morganella-Proteus-Providencia group possess it, as does Serratia. Some other species show different characteristics. The production of indole from peptone containing tryptophan and the degradation of indole by such species of bacteria are due to figures showing one or more peaks depending on time. Any false indole reactions described up to now may also be explained by the antagonism of the two enzyme systems. Therefore, the indole reaction should be standardized with regard to the medium used to avoid some of these difficulties.