title: Enzymatic characterization of some oral and nonoral gram-negative bacteria with the API ZYM system.
abstract: The API ZYM system (Analytab Products, Plainview, N.Y.), containing 19 chromogenic substrates, was utilized semiquantitatively to detect extracellular acid and alkaline phosphatases, aminopeptidases, proteases, esterase-lipase, phosphoamidase, and glycosidases in 128 oral and nonoral isolates of black-pigmented Bacteroides, Actinobacillus, Haemophilus aphrophilus, Capnocytophaga, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Wolinella recta, and Veillonella parvula. In the black-pigmented Bacteroides group of organisms, a strong trypsin reaction was present in Bacteroides gingivalis (oral species) but not in Bacteroides asaccharolyticus (nonoral species). Bacteroides melaninogenicus subsp. melaninogenicus, in contrast to Bacteroides melaninogenicus subsp. intermedius, exhibited strong N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase activity. H. aphrophilus produced beta-galactosidase and alpha-glucosidase, but the closely related Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans did not. Capnocytophaga was distinct with respect to strong aminopeptidase reactions. This study showed that a wide range of enzymes which have the potential of causing tissue injury and inflammation can be elaborated from major oral gram-negative species. Also, the API ZYM system appears to be a valuable adjunct to traditional biochemical testing in identifying oral gram-negative species.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D013045:Species Specificity