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. 1981 Mar;31(3):850–855. doi: 10.1128/iai.31.3.850-855.1981

Detection and characterization of hemolysin production in Streptococcus mutans.

J Woltjes, H Legdeur-Velthuis, J de Graaff
PMCID: PMC351396  PMID: 7228405

Abstract

Beta-hemolytic strains of Streptococcus mutans were identified and physiological reactions and hemolysin production were studied. Strict anaerobic conditions were shown to be indispensable for the expression of beta-hemolysis on blood agar plates; hemolysis was only observed after growth in an atmosphere with an oxygen content of 10 ppm or lower. The occurrence of beta-hemolytic strains was found not to be restricted to one biotype of S. mutans. Two hemolytic activities were detected in liquid cultures. Oxygen-labile activity was detected in prereduced broth cultures and was shown to be unstable and indetectable in supernatants. Solubilization of oxygen-labile hemolysin was achieved by the addition of Tween 80 to the cultures. Oxygen-stable activity was detected in supernatants of cell suspensions in the presence of maltose, Casamino Acids, and Tween 80. In contrast to oxygen-labile activity, oxygen-stable activity was not detected in broth cultures.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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