During the growth of Staphylococcus aureus MF-31, initial catalase activity dropped to a reduced level at the onset of exponential phase before increasing. When S. aureus was grown at 25, 32, or 37 degrees C, catalase activity was found to decrease by 80 to 90% within 1 h of inoculation. Two catalase-negative mutants and wild-type S. aureus MF-31 cells were exposed to exogenous 20 mM H2O2 for 15 min. For wild-type S. aureus, there was no effect from H2O2 until min 15, at which time a 10% decrease in CFU was observed. Both mutants showed increased sensitivity to the H2O2, with 56 and 71% reductions in the CFU for mutants C3 and C4, respectively, after a 15-min exposure. Cells of mutant and wild-type S. aureus were subjected to sublethal heating at 52 degrees C for 20 min. The lack of catalase activity in the mutants resulted in large decreases in enumeration.