DEMONSTRATION OF INDUCED SYNERGISTIC HEMOLYSIS BY “NONHEMOLYTIC” STAPHYLOCOCCUS SPECIES

Smith, Doyle C. (Kansas State University, Manhattan), V. D. Foltz, and T. H. Lord. Demonstration of induced synergistic hemolysis by "non-hemolytic" Staphylococcus species. J. Bacteriol. 87:188-195. 1964.-The synergistic hemolysis of "normally nonhemolytic" staphylococci on blood-agar incubated in, or adjacent to, a secondary zone of certain hemolytic staphylococci is described. The synergism apparently results from the combining of two factors, Z, produced by hemolytic staphylococci that elaborate a secondary zone, and T, produced by "nonhemolytic" staphylococci. The production of the two factors is substantiated by (i) the absence of clear hemolysis around nonhemolytic colonies and in the secondary zone of hemolytic colonies, and by (ii) evidence of clear hemolysis when the secondary zone reaches to within a few millimeters, and finally surrounds, the nonhemolytic colonies. It was possible to show on a blood-agar plate containing a mixture of both hemolytic and nonhemolytic cultures that all colonies exhibited a zone of clear hemolysis. When 400 colonies were selected from such a blood plate, 280 were nonhemolytic on subsequent studies. The remaining 120 colonies were hemolytic. Thus, there is danger of confusing non-hemolytic Staphylococcus colonies, showing induced hemolysis, with truly hemolytic colonies. If a similar situation occurred on a diagnostic blood plate, it could very likely result in failure to identify a possibly pathogenic staphylococcus.