CONSTRUCTION OF AND COMPARISONS BETWEEN RESPONSE-SURFACE MODELS FOR AEROMONAS-HYDROPHILA ATCC 7966 AND A FOOD ISOLATE UNDER AEROBIC CONDITIONS

Response surface models were constructed for two strains of Aeromonas hydrophila, one the type strain (ATCC 7966) and the other isolated from chilled cooked mussels, for various conditions of temperature, pH, and NaCl concentration. The food-derived strain was found to be better adapted to growth at low temperatures than the type strain. Comparisons between the two strains and with the published model for strain K144, a clinical isolate, showed that the three strains differed in their predicted generation and lag times at refrigeration (5-degrees-C) and close to optimum (28-degrees-C) temperatures. Comparison of the new models with published data for growth of A. hydrophila on fleshfoods, showed that the model for the food-derived strain best predicted the measured lag times, while the model for the type strain best predicted the generation times.