THE ACTIVITY OF CATALASE IN PASTEURELLA TULARENSIS

In an investigation (Sherstinsky, 1951; Yaniv, 1951) of the factors governing the virulence of Pasteurella tularensis (Bacterium tularense), the correlation between the activity of catalase and virulence was studied. This line of approach was suggested by the fact that in the Brucella group (Huddleson and Stahl, 1943) and in PasteureUa pestis (Rockenmacher, 1949) high virulence appears to be associated with high catalase activity. Strains of P. tularensis have been compared, which were derived from the same parent strain, but were characterized by varying degrees of virulence. No relation between catalase activity and virulence could be found. A number of observations are reported which have a bearing on the general picture of the enzyme and the mechanism of its action