Salient Biochemical Characters of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans

A total of 136 strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans were studied for 135 features. All isolates were small nonmotile capnophilic gram-negative rods which grew with no requirement of X or V growth factors. They all decomposed hydrogen peroxide, were oxidase-negative and benzidine-positive, reduced nitrate, produced strong alkaline and acid phosphatases, and fermented fructose, glucose and mannose. Variable fermentation results were obtained with dextrin, maltose, mannitol and xylose. Some isolates produced small amounts of gas. Representative strains of Haemophilus aphrophilus were morphologically and biochemically quite similar to A. actinomycetemcomitans. Characters which should prove to be useful to identify and distinguish these two species include catalase reaction. fermentation of lactose, starch, sucrose and trehalose, and resistance to sodium fluoride. This information allows a rapid diagnosis by species and may be helpful in studies of infections involving these organisms.