Enzymatic characterization of some oral and nonoral gram-negative bacteria with the API ZYM system

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Abstract
The API ZYM system (Analytab Products, Plainview, N.Y.), containing 19 chromogenic substrates, was utilized semiquantitatively to detect extracellular acid and alkaline phosphatases, aminopeptidases, proteases, esterase-lipase, phosphoamidase, and glycosidases in 128 oral and nonoral isolates of black-pigmented Bacteroides, Actinobacillus, Haemophilus aphrophilus, Capnocytophaga, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Wolinella recta, and Veillonella parvula. In the black-pigmented Bacteroides group of organisms, a strong trypsin reaction was present in Bacteroides gingivalis (oral species) but not in Bacteroides asaccharolyticus (nonoral species). Bacteroides melaninogenicus subsp. melaninogenicus, in contrast to Bacteroides melaninogenicus subsp. intermedius, exhibited strong N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase activity. H. aphrophilus produced beta-galactosidase and alpha-glucosidase, but the closely related Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans did not. Capnocytophaga was distinct with respect to strong aminopeptidase reactions. This study showed that a wide range of enzymes which have the potential of causing tissue injury and inflammation can be elaborated from major oral gram-negative species. Also, the API ZYM system appears to be a valuable adjunct to traditional biochemical testing in identifying oral gram-negative species.