A Quantitative and Qualitative Study of the Lipolytic Activity of Single Strains of Seven Bacterial Species

Abstract

Summary Single strains of Serratia marcescens, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus freudenreichii, Pseudomonas hydrophila, Achromobacter fischeri, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus were examined for their lipolytic activity, qualitatively using different lipolysis detecting media and quantitatively by means of acid production. The substrates investigated were olive oil, tributyrin, ethyl laurate and ethyl butyrate. The effect of temperature and pH on lipolytic activity, as measured by acid production, has also been investigated.

Differentiation of Serratia Marcescens and Serratia Liquefaciens by Tests for Lipase and Phospholipase Production

“…Lipase activity is characteristic of strains of S. marcescens (Hugo and Beveridge, 1962;Edwards and Ewing, 1972;Owens, 1974). The absence of mono-or di-glycerides as hydrolysis products indicated that the lipase released all the fatty acids of triolein with equal facility, independently of their position.…”

Taxonomic Study of Bacteroides clostridiiformis subsp. clostridiiformis (Burri and Ankersmit) Holdeman and Moore and of Related Organisms: Proposal of Clostridium clostridiiformis (Burri and Ankersmit) comb. nov. and Clostridium symbiosum (Stevens) comb. nov.

“…Growth stimulation or inhibition by bile was determined by adding 2% (wt/vol) Oxgall (Difco) to PYFG broth. Lipase activity was detected in PYFG agar plates with 1% (vol/ vol) glycerol tri-n-butyrate added as described by Hugo and Beveridge (17). A positive reaction was detected by a zone of clearing around the colony.…”

Production of Enzymes and Toxins by Hospital Strains of Pseudomonas Aeruginosain Relation to Serotype and Phage-Typing Pattern

“…Since a positive reaction can be produced both by a lipase and a lecithinase, special media were also used to differentiate between these two enzyme activities. Tributyrin agar was prepared after sonic treatment of the substrate according to Hugo and Beveridge (1962). Lecithin agar contained 5 g of lecithin per 1 of agar medium (T. Wadstrom, P. Allestam and R. Mollby, to be published).…”