Table 2.

Basic biochemical and metabolic profiles of field Brucella spp. from Zimbabwe.

Brucella isolate	Biochemical properties						Growth on TSA in the presence of dyes
reference no.	Cat	Oxi	aUre	Mot	Ind	MZN	T20	T40	BF20
B1	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
B4	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
B5	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
B6	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
B7	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
B8	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
B9	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
B10	+	+	+	-	-	+	+	+	+
B12	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
B14	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
B15	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	-
B16	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+
B20	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	-
B21	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	+

Cat, Catalase; Oxi, Oxidase, Ure; Urea hydrolysis; Mot, Motility test (+ = motile, - = non-motile); Ind, Indole production; MZN, Modified Ziehl Neelsen stain; TSA, Tryptone Soya agar; T₂₀, 20 μl/ml thionin; T₄₀, 40 μl/ml thionin; BF₂₀, 20 μl/ml basic fuchsin; + = positive test result; - = negative test result.

^aUrea hydrolysis = All isolates positive within 2 hours of culture