Which organism is VP positive, motile, and lysine positive?

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Multiple Choice

Which organism is VP positive, motile, and lysine positive?

This item tests how three biochemical traits line up to identify a common enteric bacterium: Voges-Proskauer (acetoin) production, motility, and lysine decarboxylase activity. A positive Voges-Proskauer result means the organism can produce acetoin via the butanediol fermentation pathway, which is typical for certain Enterobacteriaceae like Enterobacter. Being motile further narrows it to a genus such as Enterobacter, because Klebsiella species are nonmotile. Lysine decarboxylase positivity supports Enterobacter as well, helping distinguish it from nonmotile, VP-positive relatives and from non-enteric microbes. Among the options, the one that matches all three traits—VP positive, motile, and lysine positive—is Enterobacter aerogenes. E. coli is typically VP negative, Klebsiella is nonmotile, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa is not a VP-positive enteric and is not characterized by lysine positivity in this context.

This item tests how three biochemical traits line up to identify a common enteric bacterium: Voges-Proskauer (acetoin) production, motility, and lysine decarboxylase activity. A positive Voges-Proskauer result means the organism can produce acetoin via the butanediol fermentation pathway, which is typical for certain Enterobacteriaceae like Enterobacter. Being motile further narrows it to a genus such as Enterobacter, because Klebsiella species are nonmotile. Lysine decarboxylase positivity supports Enterobacter as well, helping distinguish it from nonmotile, VP-positive relatives and from non-enteric microbes.

Among the options, the one that matches all three traits—VP positive, motile, and lysine positive—is Enterobacter aerogenes. E. coli is typically VP negative, Klebsiella is nonmotile, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa is not a VP-positive enteric and is not characterized by lysine positivity in this context.

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