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. 1977 Jul;17(1):231–234. doi: 10.1128/iai.17.1.231-234.1977

Nature of the genetic determinant controlling encapsulation in Staphylococcus aureus Smith.

R M Smith, J T Parisi, L Vidal, J N Baldwin
PMCID: PMC421105  PMID: 885615

Abstract

Two strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Smith and M, were studied for the elimination of encapsulation. For S. aureus M, encapsulation was stable. For S. aureus Smith, spontaneous loss of encapsulation was 1.3% and increased markedly in medium containing surface-active agents. In the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, unencapsulated cells had a considerable selective advantage. Attempts to demonstrate covalently closed circular plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid were unsuccessful. In cultures of unencapsulated cells, encapsulated cells were observed occasionally. These data argue against a plasmid location for the determinants controlling encapsulation in this organism in spite of a high spontaneous loss of this character.

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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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