lecithinase

An area of turbidity will form around the side that does not have the anti-alpha-toxin, indicating uninhibited lecithinase activity.

The beta-toxin is characterised as haemolytic, necrotizing lecithinase.

There is little or no gas production, and this bacterium is negative for lecithinase and lipase reactions.

C. perfringens alpha toxin (lecithinase) causes myonecrosis and hemolysis.

It is non-motile, is susceptible to penicillin and produces a wide zone of lecithinase on egg yolk agar.

In 1961 Zieve and Vogel reported increased lecithinase A (phospholipase A2) activities in serum samples from patients with acute pancreatitis.

It is negative for clumping factor, coagulase, hyaluronidase, arginine dihydrolase, ornithine decarboxylase, acetoin, arginine arylamidase, alpha- and beta-haemolysins, heat-stable and heat-labile nucleases, indole, hydrogen sulphide and lecithinase.

A Nagler agar plate, containing 5-10% egg yolk, is used to presumptively identify strains which produce α-toxin, a diffusible lecithinase which interacts with the lipids in egg yolk to produce a characteristic precipitate around the colonies.

Other names in common use include lecithinase B, lysolecithinase, phospholipase B, lysophosphatidase, lecitholipase, phosphatidase B, lysophosphatidylcholine hydrolase, lysophospholipase A1, lysophopholipase L2, lysophospholipase transacylase, neuropathy target esterase, NTE, NTE-LysoPLA, and NTE-lysophospholipase.