Decarboxylase and other Reactions of some Gram-negative Rods

SUMMARY: Tests for decarboxylation of amino acids, oxidation of gluconate, growth in potassium cyanide broth, utilization of malonate and deamination of phenylalanine were applied to 269 strains of aerobic Gram-negative rods, other than members of the Enterobacteriaceae. The results indicated that some of these tests might be of value in the identification of organisms outside this family. The decarboxylase and KCN tests permitted separation of Pasteurella septica from P. pestis and P. pseudotuberculosis. Phenylalanine deaminase was detected in only one of the strains tested. Possible mis-classification of Pseudomonas maltophilia and of the glanders bacillus was suggested.