NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTOPLAQUE PRODUCTION IN AP+ STRAINS OF PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA

Abstract

The nutritional requirements for the growth of strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that produced autoplaques (AP+ strains) with and without the spontaneous production of turbid autoplaques was investigated. Self-lysis was most evident when the organisms were cultivated on complex growth media such as try p tone or brain–heart infusion agar. Partial to complete suppression of self-lysis was most evident when the cultures were grown on blood agar, chocolate agar, Seller"s differential medium, MacConkey, and other dye-containing media. In addition, lysis on a basal medium such as tryptone was suppressed by single supplements of nitrate, nitrite, normal serum, or basic fuchsin. The lytic response of cells grown on tryptone agar was duplicated when L-arginine, L-glutamate, L-glutamine, L-proline, or L-asparagine were singly supplemented to a vitamin-free salts basal medium devoid of a carbon and nitrogen source.