THE ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS-ORYZAE GROUP 271 



oryzae group. Today considerable quantities of diastatic enzymes, proteo- 

 lytic enzymes, and mixed diastatic and proteolytic preparations are being 

 manufactured from these molds for use in the textile and tanning industries 

 particularly. Within recent years considerable attention has been given 

 to "moldy bran" (bran seeded with selected strains of A. oryzae) as a pos- 

 sible substitute for malted barley as a saccharifying agent in the production 

 of industrial alcohol '(Underkofler, Fulmer, and Schoene, 1939; Schoene, 

 Fulmer, and Underkofler, 1940; Hao, 1942; Hao, Fulmer, and Underkofler, 

 1943; Christensen, 1943). 



References to papers dealing with the production of enzymes by molds 

 belonging to this group are presented in the Topical Bibliography, pp. 

 302-304. No attempt has been made to present a complete bibliography 

 of the subject, but it is believed that sufficient citations are listed to intro- 

 duce the reader to the extensive literature of the field. 



Pathogenesis (See Topical Bibliography pp. 307-310) 



Pathogenesis has been occasionally reported for strains identified as mem- 

 bers of the A. flavus series. Observations reporting their presence in the 

 external ear go back to Siebenmann (1882). Ota described A. jeanselmei 

 as a parasite of human nails in Paris in 1923. Bereston and Keil (1941) 

 described a case of infected nails in which the strain, as seen by us, proved 

 to be a variant of A . flavus. There are ample records to show an occasional 

 infection of the human being. There are no data as to the route of infection, 

 and the question whether the parasite is a primary or a secondary (wound) 

 parasite stands unanswered. The constant presence of members of this 

 group in every human environment, together with a lack of evidence of 

 ability to penetrate sound human tissue, leaves some doubt — not as to its 

 ability to grow when once established, but whether it can actually "break 

 and enter" as a direct agent of disease. Aspergillus flavus is commonly 

 isolated from sputum. In birds, cases of lung involvement have been re- 

 ported. There is no question but that the mold can persist for reasonable 

 periods of time within the animal body. A. flavus is one of the more com- 

 mon air-borne molds, and occasional allergic reactions are attributed to it, 

 although instances where it is the sole responsible agent are not known to 

 have been reported. 



Antibiosis 



The production of antibacterial substances by strains of Aspergillus flavus 

 has been observed by a number of workers during the past five years. 

 White (1940) reported a culture of A. flavus (found by the writers to be a 

 somewhat atypical strain) to produce some substance which was definitely 

 bactericidal against some gram-negative and some gram-positive bacteria. 



