Modification of virulence and immunogenicity of Pasteurella multocida by iron in vitro

The virulence of Pasteurella multocida strains in experimental infections of mice has been shown to depend on the iron contents of the cultivation media. Frequent passages of bacteria on iron-deficient growth media result in drastic decrease of virulence. In the case of one strain also immunogenicity was lowered. The results with nutritional media differing in their iron contents show that iron probably exhibits a regulatory effect on the production of a not yet identified virulence.