Reduction of Trimethylamine Oxide by Bacteria: 1. The Enterobacteriaceae

Abstract

The action of the bacteria included in the family Enterobacteriaceae on trimethylamine oxide has been studied. It has been found that trimethylamine production from trimethylamine oxide is characteristic of all the tribes of this family (650 cultures representing 74 species). The only exceptions have been within the genera Shigella and Erwinia. S. dysenteriae and S. paradysenteriae are unable to produce trimethylamine under the conditions used in the present work. Eight out of seventeen unidentified species of the genus Erwinia were likewise inactive.