8ARC1NA 626 



Colonies are whitish in colour. Zone of lysis around colonies on blood agar. In broth 

 a thick, weedy, glutinous deposit is formed, the supernatant fluid being comparatively 

 clear. Gelatin is not liquefied. Nitrates are not reduced. Acid is said to be produced in 

 glucose, maltose, lactose, and sucrose. The organism is occasionally pathogenic to man, 

 and may even give rise to septicaemia. One of its most notable characteristics, differ- 

 entiating it from other micrococci, is its high pathogenicity for the mouse. Subcu- 

 taneous or intraperitoneal inoculation leads to the production of a septicaemia, which 

 proves fatal, according to circumstances, in 1 to 8 days. At post mortem there may be 

 small abscesses in the spleen. The cocci are found in large numbers in the blood and 

 tissues. Guinea-pigs are susceptible, though less so than mice. Non-capsulated avirulent 

 and other variants have been described by Wreschner (1921) and Reimann (1936). 



(11) Micrococcus buccalls is a small, no n- motile. Gram-positive coccus, about 0-5 ju in 

 diameter, isolated by Ozaki (1915) from the mouth. It is peculiar in being an obligate 

 anaerobe. In stab glucose agar it gives a filiform growth with gas formation. There 

 is turbidity in dextrose broth and a greyish sediment. It ferments glucose, maltose, 

 lactose, and sucrose, but not mannitol, with the production of acid and gas. There is no 

 liquefaction of gelatin ; HjS positive ; indole negative. Its optimum temperature is 

 37° C. ; there is no growth under 20° C. It is non-pathogenic to laboratory animals. 

 This coccus differs in several important points — notably its active fermentative powers 

 and its anaerobic nature — from most other micrococci, but as no special group is available 

 for it as yet, we choose to place it here. 



Other anaerobic micrococci have been described at various times, notably the Micro- 

 coccus gingivalis Ozaki (1912), the Micrococcus minimus Gioelli (1907), and the 

 gas-producing organism Micrococcus aerogenes SchottmiiUer (1912). (For the last three 

 references, see Ozaki 1915.) 



Sarcina 



Definition. — Sarcina. 



Same definition as Micrococcus, except that cell division occurs^ under favour- 

 able conditions, in three planes, so that cubical packets are formed. 

 The type species is Sarcina ventriculi Goodsir. 



The first description of the sarcinge was by Goodsir (1842), who found an 

 organism arranged in cubical packets in the stomach of a patient suffering from 

 gastric disease ; to this he gave the name Sarcina ventriculi. Schroeter (1875) 

 was the next to describe a sarcina — the Sarcina aurantiaca — and since then 

 several others have been isolated, some from suppurative processes, but the 

 majority from non-pathological sources, including soil (see Smit 1933). 



The following is a description of certain of the sarcinae that have been described 



as separate species : 



Sarcina ventriculi, Goodsir. — This, the first sarcina described, was not cultured till 



long after Goodsir (1842) had noticed it microscopically in the stomach contents. 



Morphology. — Spherical coccus, 0-8-1-0 [i in diameter, arranged in cubical packets and 

 groups. In liquid media it occurs in pairs, small groups, and packets. Non- 

 motile. Gram-positive, but decolorizes easily. Non-acid-fast. 



Agar Plate. — 48 hours, 37° C. Circular colonies, 1 mm. in diameter, convex, amorphous, 

 opaque, pale-yellow, with a smooth surface and entire edge ; rather viscous in con- 

 sistency, and easily emulsifiable. 



Agar Slope. — 48 hours, 37° C. Moderate, confluent, raised, opaque, creamy-yellow growth 

 with a smooth or contoured surface and an undulate edge. 



Gelatin Stab. — Moderate filiform growth ; no liquefaction. 



Broth. — 48 hours, 37° C. Moderate uniform turbidity with a viscous deposit, disinte- 

 grating on shaking. No surface growth. 



