Typing of non-serogroupable Neisseria meningitidis by means of sensitivity to R-type pyocines of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Thirty-three (66 per cent) of 50 non-serogroupable isolates of Neisseria meningitidis could be typed on the basis of their sensitivities to partially purified rod-type (R-type) pyocines from 13 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Only seven (11 per cent) of 63 serogroupable meningococci were sensitive to the test pyocines. The pyocine typing method is particularly applicable to the labelling of strains in which autoagglutinability precludes the standard agglutination typing procedure.