Characterization of the agglutinating principle in chorioallantoic fluid responsible for the clumping of certain strains of Staphylococcus aureus.

Chorioallantoic fluid from fertile hens' eggs possesses the ability to agglutinate certain strains of Staphylococcus aureus when these organisms are grown in the presence of this material (Shrigley, 1945). It has also been found that fluids from eggs infected with the influenza virus (PR8) possess this agglutinating property in a significantly higher degree than do normal fertile egg fluids. It was felt, therefore, that the identification of this principle was of importance, as its nature might shed some light on the effect of the infectious agent on the metabolic economy of the cells involved. The present article is a more detailed consideration and an extension of observations presented in a preliminary report concerning this phenomenon (Shrigley and Maculla, 1947).