Repair and enterotoxin synthesis by Staphylococcus aureus after thermal shock.

To study repair and enterotoxin synthesis, four staphylococcal strains (FRI-100, FRI-137, FRI-472, and S6) were subjected to sublethal heat treatment, transferred to four liquid repair media (1% powdered skim milk in distilled water, complex medium, M9 minimal salt medium, and saline solution), and then incubated at different temperatures. Powdered skim milk proved to be the most efficient medium for promoting the repair of injured cells, particularly at 37 degrees C. Minimal salt medium also gave good results. Salt tolerance also increased at 4 degrees C, although it did not reach normal values. After 6 h of incubation at 37 degrees C in powdered skim milk, strain FRI-100 synthesized detectable amounts of enterotoxin A. After 10 h of incubation in the same medium at the same temperature, enterotoxins were detected in all of the strains.