UREASE TEST AIM To determine the ability of an organism to produce an exoenzyme Urease and degrade Urea. PRINCIPLE The alkaline fermentation of urine (urea) with the resultant production of ammonia was hypothesized to occur due to the action of microorganisms by Reoch in 1875. Christensen later formulated a medium that would allow growth of other members of the Enterobacteriaceae that cannot utilize the by-product of urea hydrolysis (ammonia) as a sole nitrogen source for growth. Urea is a nitrogen containing compound that is produced during Decarboxylation of the amino acid Arginine in the Urea cycle. Urea is a diamide of Carbonic acid. Many organisms ( Proteus mirabilis , Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori ) especially those that infect the Urinary tract have Urease enzyme which is able to ...