The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 37, Issue 3 192-194, Copyright © 1992 by Society for General Microbiology
Carotenoid pigment levels in Staphylococcus aureus and sensitivity to oleic acid
Z. Xiong and F. A. Kapral
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210.
Staphylococcus aureus mutants lacking pigment, or expressing only low
levels of pigment, were more sensitive to oleic acid than were the parent
strain and mutants making more pigment than the parent. One class of
mutants (colour index 5), although possessing significant levels of
pigment, were nevertheless quite sensitive to oleic acid. This suggested
that only certain carotenoids in the biosynthetic pathway were capable of
imparting resistance to fatty acids. The phenotypic expression of pigment
also affected the sensitivity of a strain to oleic acid. The parent S.
aureus strain 18Z, when grown to express its maximal pigment potential, was
more resistant to oleic acid than when it was grown to express minimal
levels of pigment.
