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J Bacteriol. 1962 July; 84(1): 163-168
Copyright © 1962, The Williams & Wilkins Company. All Rights Reserved.

NON-BETA-HEMOLYTIC GROUP M-REACTING STREPTOCOCCI OF HUMAN ORIGIN

Laboratory of Clinical Investigations, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

ABSTRACT

RIFKIND, DAVID (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.) AND ROGER M. COLE. Non-beta-hemolytic group M-reacting streptococci of human origin. J. Bacteriol. 84:163–168. 1962.—In 8 years, 14 strains of alpha- and gamma-hemolytic streptococci, reacting only with group M antiserum, were isolated from a variety of human sources. Two alpha-hemolytic strains from the blood of endocarditis patients were compared biochemically and immunologically with the two original canine beta-hemolytic strains of Fry (ATCC 9934 and 9935). The human strains do not produce ammonia or ferment glycogen, whereas the animal strains do. The animal strains share two trypsin-labile antigens with the human strains, and one of them (ATCC 9935) also shares at least four trypsin-stable antigens with the human strains. The other strain of Fry (ATCC 9934) appears to lack these trypsin-stable antigens. These results indicate that the human strains correspond to those designated biotype I whereas ATCC 9935 belongs to biotype II and ATCC 9934 to biotype III.

The nature of the group M antigen is undefined, but the gel-diffusion methods employed in this work suggest that several antigens may be responsible for precipitates seen as positive reactions to group M antisera when testing is done by the usual methods in tubes.