Comparative use of amino acids by three auxotypes of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Auxotypes of Neisseria gonorrhoeae are usually distinguishable by their particular requirements for growth; these requirements often include amino acids. It is possible that strains needing particular substrates to grow can be distinguished not merely by their growth requirements but also by their metabolism of these particular substrates. In this work amino acid utilization and oxidation studies were performed enabling prototype, pro- and thia-strains to be distinguished. The metabolism study also underlined the importance of proline as an energy source and pointed to the probability of distinct relationships with the metabolism of the key amino acids, glutamic and aspartic acids, for the three auxotypes. It is proposed that the specific amino acid required by the naturally occurring auxotype serves as an energy source at the site of infection and has important implications with respect to particular auxotypes at various sites.