Micrococci, like many other representatives of the Actinobacteria, can be catabolically versatile, with the ability to utilize a wide range of unusual substrates, such as pyridine, herbicides, chlorinated biphenyls, and oil.
The crude culture filtrate and methanol extracts from S. ostrea were examined to determine the antibacterial activity of the fungus against bacteria like Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus species.
In 1905 Sir Themistocles Zammit infected a goat with the bacteria Micrococcus Melitanensis which then caught Malta fever.