title: Assay of extracellular proteinases using a colorimetric collagen substrate for the differentiation of Serratia in the tribe Klebsielleae.
abstract: The gelatin test has been utilized for many years as a characteristic to separate the genus Serratia from other members of the tribe Klebsielleae. Gelatin is a large protein matrix that cannot diffuse into bacterial cells. Microbes that attack gelatin do so by producing extracellular proteinases. The measurement of gelatinase has suffered from the lack of a definable endpoint and the inability to quantitate the enzyme. A method was developed utilizing an azo-dye-labelled collagen substrate that could measure the extracellular proteinase of serratia. The test was easy to perform, inexpensive, and potentially quantifiable. The azo-dye test corresponded completely with the gelatinase tests.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Edberg
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Edberg
mesh_terms: D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D003124:Colorimetry; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000201:enzymology; D018093:Gelatinases; D010434:Pepsin A / Q000378:metabolism; D012705:Serratia / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen; D010434:Pepsin A; D018093:Gelatinases