1955] NOTES 231 of which has been shown to accelerate the con- in the range pH 5.9-6.1 in the glucose-arginine version of citrulline to ornithine (Slade, Arch. mixture, which is in agreement with Slade's Biochem. and Biophys., 42, 204, 1953). observation (Arch. Biochem. and Biophys., 42, Studies using phosphate buffers indicated 204, 1953). Lactic acid production was also that carbon dioxide formation occurred optimally maximal in this range.

A CATALASE NEGATIVE MICROCOCCUS PYOGENES VAR. AUREUS PAUL R. LUCAS AND H. W. SEELEY Laboratory of Bacteriology, College of Agricutlture, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York Received for publication October 4, 1954

Dr. T. F. Judefind of the College of Medical in horse-blood agar occurs; on 1 per cent glucose Evangelists at Loma Linda, California, isolated agar a moist, smooth, yellowish growth is pro- a gram positive, coagulase positive coccus from duced; hydrogen peroxide cannot be detected in normal male urine with characteristics typical of aerated beef infusion broth cultures although Micrococcus pyogenes var. aureus with the un- growth is good; catalase activity cannot be shown usual exception that catalase activity could not by adding 3 per cent H202 to colonies on solid be found. The culture was sent to this laboratory media of low glucose content. In manometric ex- for examination and was examined in the labora- periments, heavy cell suspensions and cell ex- tory of Dr. James B. Evans at the American Meat tracts prepared by sonic treatment failed to re- Foundation in Institute Chicago. The original lease oxygen from hydrogen peroxide. identification of the organism as a catalase nega- tive Micrococcus pyogenes var. aureus has been The requirements of this culture for vitamins verified. coincide with those found by Evans (J. Bacteriol., The culture gives the following reactions: Acid 55, 793, 1948) in his study of coagulase positive is produced from glucose, lactose, maltose, su- staphylococci, i.e., only nicotinic acid and thi- crose, mannitol (aerobically and anaerobically) amin are required. and glycerol, but not from xylose, fructose, raffi- Although the catalase test used commonly to nose, or inulin; nitrates are reduced to nitrites; distinguish streptococci from staphylococci has arginine, esculin, and sodium hippurate are hy- proven of great value, it is apparent that on rare drolyzed whereas starch is not; gelatin is lique- occasions naturally occurring coagulase positive, fied; an acid curd is produced in litmus milk; the catalase negative staphylococci may be encoun- coagulase test is strongly positive; no hemolysis tered.

USE OF A DEHYDRATED CULTURE MEDIUM FOR SIMPLIFIED PREPARATION OF STREPTOCOCCAL CULTURES FOR GRIFFITH'S SLIDE AGGLUTINATION MURRAY M. STREITFELD National Children's Cardiac Hospital, Miami, Florida Received for publication October 13, 1954 Serological typing of strains of Group A beta and the tendency of cultures often to agglutinate hemolytic streptococci by Griffith's slide ag- spontaneously in these media. Media generally glutination technique (Griffith, J. Hyg., 34, 542, used contain fresh preparations of animal tissues, 1934) has been hampered by time consuming as in beef heart-trypsin digest broth (Pauli and preparation of media for growth of test cultures Coburn, J. Exptl. Med., 65, 595, 1937) or modi-