Lecithinase Production by Gram-Negative Bacteria

Lecithinase production by microorganisms has been investigated in an attempt to use it in the classification of bacteria, and to associate forma-tion with toxicity and virulence. The first record of this reaction was made when Nagler (1939) and Seifert (1939) observed, independently, the formation of an opalescence in human serum by the a toxin of Clostridium perfringens. It was soon found that human serum could be replaced with egg yolk (Macfarlane, Oakley, and Ander-son, 1941), and the nature of the reaction was identified as the lecithinase activity which re-sulted in the liberation of phosphorus and choline (Macfarlane and Knight, 1941), with precipita-tion of fat which was the source of the opalescence.