Typing of Proteus strains by proticine production and sensitivity

A simple, reliable and highly discriminating scheme for the bacteriocine typing of Proteus has been developed. Strains are typed on MacConkey's agar according to their ability to produce a proticine active against one of 14 indicator strains having a single and specific proticine sensitivity and also according to their sensitivity to the different proticines of 13 proticine-producing strains. This new scheme of combined production and sensitivity typing was formulated after 250 strains of Proteus from clinical material had been examined for the production of proticines active against the 24 indicator strains of Cradock-Watson's proticine typing scheme and for proticine activity and sensitivity towards each other. Three new types of proticinogenic strains were discovered and defined. Strains producing proticines of types 1, 2 and 3 were isolated frequently. These common proticines could be subtyped by their different actions on newly characterised indicator strains. By means of this production/sensitivity (P/S) typing scheme, 250 Proteus strains were differentiated into 90 distinct types, whereas typing by sensitivity alone distinguished only 40 types and typing by production alone distinguished only 20 types (including subtypes).