Lysogeny and other characteristics of Staphylococcus hyicus isolated from chickens.

Lysogeny was readily demonstrated among strains of Staphylococcus hyicus that were isolated from chickens. Susceptibility to phage lysis was affected by prophage immunity, but lipase activity and erythromycin resistance were not affected by the presence of temperate phage. In contrast to previously published results, lipase-negative strains of S. hyicus were relatively common and the use of selective media based on lipase activity would have been unsuitable for detection of the S. hyicus strains examined.