SUMMARY: Urease is a constituent enzyme of Corynebacterium renale and appears to account for the bulk of its ammonia production. C. renale also contains an arginase and some amino-acid deaminases, but the former has not been fully characterized. Bovine urine supports the growth of a small inoculum of C. renale for a limited time but after growth has reached a maximum it diminishes rapidly and the ammonia and pH values increase. C. renale also contains uricase but its precise significance has not yet been determined.
Of the other bacteria studied, C. ovis has urease activity similar to C. renale, and C. pyogenes a stronger initial arginase. C. equi contains no appreciable urease or arginase, although it tends to form ammonia from glutamine.
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