A culture medium which provides an environment for positive and nontransient identification of proteus and providence strains of enteric bacteria utilizes a combination of L-tryptophane with ferric ammonium citrate and brom cresol purple with the optional addition of L-phenylalanine in a slightly acid medium. The culture is also provided with a gelling agent such as agar in order to produce a slant and with nutrients for the bacteria. The combination of components may be incorporated into otherwise known culture media as well. When the combination is incorporated into slightly acid screening media such as lysine iron agar, a positive test for proteus and providence bacteria can be effected. When incorporated in other screening media such as Kligler iron agar or triple sugar iron agar which are slightly alkaline, this combination of ingredients improves the screening ability of these culture media although it does not provide a positive test for proteus and providence bacteria.
Culture media for the cultivation of mycoplasms comprising an aqueous dispersion of amino acids, carbohydrates, yeast extract, inorganic salts, and lecithin.
A method and compound for detecting and identifying and/or quantifying a deaminase enzymatic activity of a microorganism, according to which an inoculum suspected of containing a microorganism with a deaminase activity is brought into contact with a culture medium for microorganisms, wherein the culture medium comprises at least one detection agent for demonstrating, by forming a colored product with a revealing agent, a deaminase enzymatic activity; said detection agent being an L-amino acid of following general formula (I): ##STR1## in which R represents an organic radical containing a cyclic ring, said cyclic ring being substituted with 1 to 3 substituents that are identical or different and each of which limits the diffusion in the culture medium of the .alpha.-keto acid produced by the deamination of the at least one detection agent, as compared to where each of said substituents is not present.
