New possibilities of staphylococcin detection in the exfoliatin-producing strains of staphylococcus aureus.

C. renale was found to be highly sensitive to the effect of bacteriocin produced by the exfoliatin-positive strains of S. aureus. The sensitivity of other indicator organisms used was determined through descending series of C. pseudodiphtheriticum, C. diphtheriae, S. aureus strains Oxford 209P, UT 0017, and Wood 46. Strains of C. pyogenes only produced contradictory results which made any satisfactory interpretation impossible. A modification of the simultaneous bacteriocin-detection method of exfoliatin-positive S. aureus strains, which use suspension of an indicator strain in nutrient agar to obtain lawn homogeneity, has been employed. The use of the modified method together with C. renale to serve as the indicator strain represents a rapid and reliable test suitable for routine diagnostics.