Production of extracellular enzymes and enterotoxins A, B, and C by Staphylococcus aureus.

Eighty-seven strains of Staphylococcus aureus were examined for their ability to produce enterotoxins A, B, and C, deoxyribonuclease, lysozyme, proteinase, lipase, and alpha-, beta-, and delta-hemolysins. Enterotoxigenic strains showed a significant tendency to be high lipase producers, but none of the other enzymes formed were correlated with the ability of the staphylococci to produce enterotoxins A, B, or C. The conversion of ent(-) to ent(+) strains by lysogenization did not affect significantly the ability of the strains to produce any of the above extracellular enzymes. The formation of enzymes such as deoxyribonuclease and lysozyme by staphylococci is not therefore an indication, necessarily, of their potential enterotoxigenicity.