Abstract: A composition is used as a reagent in a method for measuring Antistreptolysin O (ASO) in a blood sample. The composition contains Streptolysin O (SO) at a pH outside the range of its hemolytic activity, e.g., outside the pH range of 5-9. At that pH the SO is reversibly inactivated while maintaining its hemolytic capacity. The composition is employed to measure ASO by mixing one or more samples of non-hemolyzed blood or serum with one or more known quantities of the composition with a known hemolytic capacity, incubating each mixture to allow reaction of any ASO in the sample with the SO, restoring the hemolytic activity of the SO by adjustment of pH to permit lysis and detecting the presence or absence of lysis in each sample.

Abstract: A liquid .beta.-streptococcus selective medium for the growth and detection of .beta.-hemolytic streptococci without allowing the growth of enterococci and other non-.beta.-hemolytic streptococci, consisting essentially of 0.2-0.4 gm. pullulan as carbohydrate source based on 93-72 ml water, a protein source such as a combination of Proteose Peptone #3, (a dried meat digest) and Biosate (pancreatic digest of casein combined with yeast autolysate), an inhibitor of the growth of Pseudomonas, such as thallous acetate, an inhibitor of the growth of gram negative organisms other than Pseudomonas, such as nalidixic acid, an inhibitor of the growth of staphylococci such as Gentamycin, and reduced aniline blue indicator.

Abstract: An improved method which differentiates or separates heterogeneous populations of fast and slow acid producing strains of bacteria by growth of the strains under closely controlled unique conditions so as to allow the selection of a colony of one or the other strains is described. Preferably a gelled, solid growth medium containing in admixture: (1) milk protein, a milk protein derivative, or a milk protein substitute; (2) an acid pH sensitive color change indicator; and, (3) a buffering agent is used. The colonies have a contrasting color within and around them because of the effect of the acid produced by the bacteria on the indicator. The growth of the bacteria is under anaerobic or near anaerobic conditions in order to achieve certainty in the colony selection for fast or slow acid production. The bacteria can also be mixed with phage which inhibit or kill the members of a heterogeneous or homogeneous population of bacteria on the medium and grown to produce phage resistant colonies.

Abstract: An antigenic protein, termed antigen C, present on the cell walls and in cultures of Streptococeus mutans, especially genetic group I (serotypes c, e and f) is separated from other antigenic proteins, notably those which react heart tissue, to give an antigen preparation which may be used as a vaccine or to raise antibodies for use in protecting against dental caries. Antigen C is destroyed or extracted from the cell walls by treatment with boiling aqueous sodium dodecyl sulphate (10 gm per liter) for 10 minutes. It has a molecular weight of 70,000.+-.5,000 and an isoelectric point of 4.45.+-.0.24. It is destroyed by proteolytic enzyme and does not cross react with heart tissue. The antigen also occurs in the culture filtrate and/or cell extract and may readily be separated from these sources by affinity chromatography on immobilised antibody.

Abstract: Hyaluronic acid, a polysaccharide, is prepared in high yield from streptococcus bacteria by fermenting the bacteria under anaerobic conditions in a CO.sub.2 -enriched growth medium, separating the bacteria from the resulting broth and isolating the hyaluronic acid from the remaining constituents of the broth. The bacteria may be grown free of endotoxins by filtering all ingredients through a 10K Millipore.RTM. filter prior to inoculation of the medium and subsequently maintaining pyrogen-free conditions. Separation of the microorganisms from the polysaccharide is facilitated by killing the bacteria with trichloroacetic acid. After removal of the bacterial cells and concentration of the higher molecular weight fermentation products, the hyaluronic acid is isolated and purified by precipitation, resuspension and reprecipitation.

Abstract: A method for using selected strains of Streptococcus lactis subspecies diacetilactis, which have been modified to be non-lactose fermenting, for the preservation of foods containing lactose is described. The subspecies is more generally known as Streptococcus diacetilactis. The selected Streptococcus diacetilactis strains have been modified by curing to remove at least one natural plasmid which controls the fermentation of lactose to lactic acid while retaining the ability of this subspecies to inhibit bacterial spoilage in foods. The plasmid removed by curing is about 41 megadaltons (Mdal) in mass. The method using the modified strains of Streptococcus diacetilactis is particularly adapted for the preservation of milk products.

Abstract: A medium for the selective growth and identification of Streptococcus mutans bacteria is disclosed, that includes a tryptone-glucose extract agar, monobasic and dibasic potassium phosphate, yeast extract, agar, a color indicator for the bacteria and a solution of sucrose ranging in concentration from 1% to 15%. Preferably, the concentration of the sucrose may range from about 3% to about 11%. A bacteria culture plate may be prepared comprising the medium, and may include a first basal layer comprised entirely of the medium, and a second overlayer agar coating, including a mixture of the medium with a calcium phosphate suspension. Both the basal layer and the overlayer agar coating are preferably adjusted to a mildly basic pH.The present medium, and bacteria culture plates prepared therewith, offer desired bacterial specificity with no growth inhibition, that is usually the case with specific media of this kind.

Abstract: .alpha.-glycerophosphate oxidase is produced by cultivating microorganisms belonging to genus Pediococcus, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus or Leuconostoc in a nutrient medium containing at least one compound selected from the group consisting of .alpha.-keto acids represented by the formula,R--COCOOHwherein R is CH.sub.3 (CH.sub.2).sub.m --, HOOC(CH.sub.2).sub.n -- or CH.sub.2 (OH)CH(OH)CH(OH)CH-- (in which m is an integer of 1 to 3 and n is an integer of 0 to 2) and salts thereof, and then .alpha.-glycerophosphate oxidase is recovered from the resulting culture broth. .alpha.-ketobutyric acid, .alpha.-ketovaleric acid, .alpha.-ketocaproic acid, .alpha.-ketomalonic acid, oxalacetic acid, .alpha.-ketoglutaric acid and .alpha.-ketogluconic acid are disclosed.

Abstract: An aroma distillate of a bacterial culture containing .alpha.-acetolactic acid is prepared by acidifying the bacterial culture to a pH of about 3-4 and subjecting it to water vapor distillation in the presence of oxygen for oxidation of the .alpha.-acetolactic acid to diacetyl. When 10% of the culture is driven off, a yield of 85% of diacetyl is obtained. The resultant distillate is used for aromatizing edible fats.

Abstract: Lactobacillus and Streptococcus are cultured by special process steps to derive by controlled transmutation a strain of organisms having high tolerance to acidity above 1.5%, and are tolerant to metallic salts such as cobalt carbonate which tend to poison such organisms by limiting growth. The organisms are cultured in a transfer process from starter organisms that tend to clump in the presence of metallic ions to develop the improved strain which does not clump when cultured in the presence of metallic salts thereby permitting increased production. A characterizing feature of the resulting transmuted organisms therefore is the freedom of a tendency to clump in the presence of the cobalt ion, a feature uncharacteristic of the starting organisms. The organisms are useful for enhancing animal and plant growth.

Abstract: Yogurt having a reduced increase in acidity and bitterness during storage at ambient temperature is produced by fermenting milk with Streptococcus thermophilus and a Lactobacillus bulgaricus strain which has low proteolytic activity and allows a DNA-DNA hybridization of from 80 to 100%. A thickening strain of Streptococcus thermophilus may be used. The yogurt may be packed under sterile conditions and stored at about 20.degree. C.

Abstract: A process is disclosed in which an optically active monoalkyl ester of .beta.-(S)-aminoglutaric acid is prepared by subjecting a dialkyl ester of .beta.-protected aminoglutaric acid to the action of a culture broth, cells, or treated cells of a microorganism capable of stereoselectively hydrolyzing only one of the ester groups in the above-mentioned dialkyl ester to produce an optically active monoalkyl ester of .beta.-protected (S)-aminoglutaric acid, and then removing the amino-protecting group from the product. An optically active monoalkyl ester of .beta.-(S)-aminoglutaric acid is useful as a starting material for synthesizing .beta.-lactam antibiotics of carbapenem type such as thienamycin.

Abstract: A process is disclosed in which an amino acid-producing microorganism having an ability to assimilate lactic acid is aerobically cultivated in the presence of at least one lactic acid microorganism in an aqueous nutrient medium containing at least one carbohydrate which is assimilable by the lactic acid microorganism but nonassimilable or weakly assimilable by the amino acid-producing microorganism as the main carbon source and an accumulated amino acid is recovered from the culture broth. An industrially advantageous production of an amino acid has become feasible by utilizing inexpensive carbon sources or those organic substances in agricultural or livestock wastes that have heretofore not been effectively utilized.

Abstract: A protein with immuno-suppressive activity and with the following physico-chemical properties:isoelectric point: 4.25,ultraviolet absorption spectrum: as shown in FIG. 1, with a maximum at 260 nm,molecular mass: about 90,000 daltons,can be strained by Coomasie blue, but not by Methylene blue or PAS,desoxyribonuclease, ribonuclease A and neuraminidase proof, and degraded by .alpha., .gamma. and .delta. chymotrypsins and trypsine.

Abstract: A method for the preparation of naturally stabilized, thick bodied, fermented milk products by fermentation is described. Mixed cultures of milk fermenting, non-slime, lactic acid producing bacteria and slime producing Streptococcus lactis, Streptococcus cremoris or mixtures thereof having the thickening characteristics in milk of Streptococcus cremoris NRRL-B-12,361, 12,362 or 12,363 are used, preferably in addition with a diacetyl producing bacterium for flavor. The fermented milk products are thick bodied without any ropiness or sliminess and are stable to separation of whey from curd upon storage at refrigeration temperatures, with little or no added stabilizing agents such as gums and starches or thickening agents such as added non-fat milk solids. The preferred product is a thick bodied buttermilk.

Abstract: Culturing Streptococcus agalactiae in a nutrient broth containing at least 10 g/l of glucose while maintaining the pH at 6-8 by the addition of alkaline material produces polysaccharide antigen including a fraction having a molecular size from 8-11.times.10.sup.5 d. By employing a broth free from constituents having a molecular size above 10.sup.5, the antigens can be separated from the broth in high yield after harvesting the organisms. Vaccination of humans with Streptococcus agalactiae polysaccharide antigens having molecular sizes above 5.times.10.sup.5 produces in selected individuals specific antibody levels above 200 .mu.g/ml of antisera; globulins fractionated from such antisera contain most of the antibody and can be used for passive immunization.

Abstract: This invention relates to a class of .alpha.1,3 glucan 3-glucanohydrolase named mutanase. The .alpha.1,3 glucosidic bonded polysaccharides hydrolyzed by these enzymes, herein termed mutan, forms part of the matrix material of dental plaque.Mutanase may be produced by culturing microorganisms such as, Trichoderma, Penicillium, or Streptococcus on a glucan characterized by at least 50% alpha -1, 3 glucosidic bonds.Mutanase containing compositions are adapted for disintegrating in vivo essential structural components of dental plaque.

Abstract: Certain glucans modify the biosynthetic route of extracellular polysaccharides involved in dental plaque development causing critical loss of adhesiveness. They interfere with the biosynthesis of cell-bound polysaccharides reducing and preventing agglutination of cells. They thus aid in the prevention of dental plaque formation or concomitant dental caries and periodontal disease.

Abstract: Naturally stabilized fermented milk products are prepared with a concentrate of Streptococcus thermophilus cells that produce a stabilizer in situ when cultured in milk. The concentrate is obtained by culturing the stabilizer-producing Streptococcus thermophilus in a growth medium including milk solids to obtain at least about 10.sup.8 cells per ml. The growth medium preferably contains maltose, sucrose, fructose or lactose which enhances stabilizer formation.

Abstract: Mutant strains have been isolated from Streptococcus mutans strain BHT-2(str) which are characterized by a single point mutation in the structural gene for the enzyme, L(+) lactate dehydrogenase, this enzyme being normally responsible for lactic acid production by this bacterium. Streptococcus mutans is believed to be a principal pathogen in dental caries, a disease characterized by the dissolution of the mineral portion of the tooth caused by acid resulting from the interaction of bacteria on the tooth surface with carbohydrates. The mutant strains of the invention will be found useful as prototype nonvirulent effector strains in controlling the incidence and severity of dental caries.

Abstract: A process for cultivation of Streptococcus pyogenes comprising cultivating Streptococcus pyogenes in a culture medium for multiplication of bacterial cells having an anti-tumor activity, characterized by (A) using the culture medium containing fermentable carbon sources and (B) maintaining pH of the culture medium at 5.6 or more during the course of cultivation.

Abstract: A method for increasing the diacetyl production of a diacetyl-producing bacteria such as Streptococcus diacetylactis. Glycerol or sucrose as humectants are added to an aqueous nutrient medium such as milk having a 2% butterfat content which contains a diacetyl precursor such as sodium citrate. The bacteria are then inoculated into the humectant-containing nutrient medium. The humectant lowers the a.sub.w value of the nutrient medium so as to increase the diacetyl production of the bacteria when incubated at a temperature of from 28.degree. to 37.degree. C.

Abstract: A process is provided for improving the recovery of microbial cell biomass, which includes the steps of subjecting a culture broth containing chain-forming microorganisms to shearing conditions sufficient to shorten the chain-length of microbial cells whereby the packed cell volume of the cell biomass is substantially reduced and then recovering the thus treated biomass from the broth by centrifugation.

Abstract: Immunization of animals with preparations containing more purified forms of glucosyltransferase (GTF) results in the presence of antibody in saliva demonstrable by functional inhibitions of enzyme activity and binding of radioactive enzyme. Serum antibody was also present. Immunized groups of animals had lower mean caries scores than comparably sham-immunized or nonimmunized control groups. Local immunization with GTF of serotype c or g of a Streptococcus mutans reduces the colonization, caries, and lesions caused by infection with S. mutans of serotype g (strain 6715) or c, or with serotype g or c, or with serotype a or g, respectively.

Abstract: Pyruvate oxidase can be produced by culturing Pediococcus sp. B-0667, Streptococcus sp. B-0668, Aerococcus viridans IFO-12219 or Aerococcus viridans IFO-12317. It is useful for analysis for pyruvic acid, because it catalyzes the reaction of pyruvic acid, phosphate and oxygen to form acetylphosphate, carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide. A kit containing the various reagents for such analysis is also provided by this invention.

Abstract: An anti-tumor substance which is not only heatstable but also has low inflaming and pain-inducing properties and low pyrogenic activity is disclosed. The substance is prepared by disrupting cells of bacteria belonging to hemolytic streptococci, extracting from the disrupted material a water-insoluble substance and treating the substance with one or more proteases and, optionally, with one or more nucleases.

Abstract: A concentrated bacterial culture, capable of being cooled to temperatures as low as about -40.degree. C. for storage without rapid freezing and with minimum damage to the bacterial cells, is prepared by diluting a conventionally prepared concentrated cell paste with a liquid anti-freeze agent containing one or more water freezing point depressants which are water-soluble, are non-injurious to the bacteria, and do not form crystals when cooled to a predetermined temperature within the range of about 5 to about -40.degree. C. The amount of the freezing point depressant(s) is sufficient to prevent formation of ice crystals from the water present in the diluted product when cooled to the predetermined temperature. The culture, which does not become hard or crystalline upon being cooled to temperatures as low as -40.degree. C., can be warmed to a temperature convenient for sampling, assaying and blending and then re-cooled to a cold storage temperature without an appreciable reduction in viability.

Abstract: A method for growing a culture capable of degrading ammonia which includes inoculating a medium with a culture identified as ATCC 31381 or one or more of the primary cultures thereof; wherein the medium is a semisolid containing ground peanut hulls, water, a carbonate source, an ammonia source and a phosphate source. The culture is suitable for treating waste waters to degrade ammonia therein.

Abstract: Urea such as that present in dialysates is converted to inocuous products by employing a culture having the identification ATCC 31381 or one of its primary cultures or mixtures thereof.

Abstract: Storage stable, lyophilized, acid producing bacteria, such as lactic acid bacteria, are prepared by lyophilizing the bacteria in the presence of at least 5% by weight of the bacteria of a basic organic or inorganic buffering agent, preferably an alkali metal salt of glycerophosphate, to provide lyophilized bacteria containing less than 5% by weight water, and sealing the lyophilized bacteria in a container while in a vacuum or surrounded by a gaseous atmosphere substantially free of oxygen, preferably argon which is essentially free of oxygen.

Abstract: A biologically concentrated Streptococcus diacetylactis is used to develop in creamed cottage cheese a desirable diacetyl flavor and aroma when creamed cottage cheese is stored at refrigeration temperatures. The biologically concentrated Streptococcus diacetylactis is prepared without mechanical concentration by growing Streptococcus diacetylactis on a special media to produce at least about 10.sup.9 cells per ml.

Abstract: A novel mutant strain Streptococcus diacetilactis NRRL-B-8177 which is particularly adapted for the preparation of creamed Cottage cheese without fermentation (or prior incubation) of the creaming mixture or dressing is described. This strain produces about one-half of the acid produced by S. diacetilactis 18-16 which is regarded as the best bacterium that is commercially available for use in Cottage cheese. Improved flavor and prophylaxis against spoilage bacteria of the dressed Cottage cheese is preferably provided by blending a concentrate of the Streptococcus diacetilactis NRRL-B-8177 cells with a creaming mixture at less than about 50.degree. F. (10.degree. C.) and then mixing the cold cream mixture with dry Cottage cheese curd cooled to less than about 50.degree. F. and maintaining the temperature at less than about 50.degree. F.

Abstract: A method for the inactivation of microbial toxins and attenuation of vaccines by treating the toxin or vaccine with a tannin, especially a condensed tannin derived from fruit of the genus Diospyros, particularly the persimmon, without loss of the desired antigenicity.

Abstract: Compositons and multilayer analytical elements comprising lactate oxidase which is substantially free of catalase and preferably produced by Streptococcus faecalis ATCC 12755 are provided for the quantitative analysis of lactic acid or lactate, especially in serum. The lactate oxidase catalyzes the reduction of lactic acid or lactate to pyruvate and hydrogen peroxide and the quantity of lactic acid or lactate is determined by detecting the amount of hydrogen peroxide produced. Preferably, the hydrogen peroxide is detected colorimetrically using a peroxidase-catalyzed detection system.

Abstract: An insolubilized antibody suitable for an enzyme immuno assay or radio immuno assay, which has characteristic infrared absorptions at around 1,040 cm.sup.-1, 1,540 cm.sup.-1 and 1,640 cm.sup.-1 and is prepared by chemically binding an antibody to cell wall debris of bacteria or yeasts whose shape is globular or rod-like. There is further disclosed an enzyme immuno assay or radio immuno assay using the insolubilized antibody and a kit containing the insolubilized antibody.

Abstract: An improved process for producing .alpha.-glycerophosphate oxidase provides yields of more than 1500 U per liter. The enzyme is produced by growing a member of the family Lactobacillaceae in a medium comprising pyruvate and an inducer for .alpha.-glycerophosphate oxidase. In the preferred embodiment, a medium comprising a mixture of glucose and pyruvate as carbon sources provides a synergistic effect on the production of .alpha.-glycerophosphate oxidase.

Abstract: Compositions and multilayer analytical elements comprising lactate oxidase which is substantially free of catalase and preferably produced by Streptococcus faecalis ATCC 12755 are provided for the quantitative analysis of lactic acid or lactate, especially in serum. The lactate oxidase catalyzes the reduction of lactic acid or lactate to pyruvate and hydrogen peroxide and the quantity of lactic acid or lactate is determined by detecting the amount of hydrogen peroxide produced. Preferably, the hydrogen peroxide is detected colorimetrically using a peroxidase-catalyzed detection system.