BACILLUS EOT AN S 855 



Biochemical. — Acid, no gas, in glucose, maltose and sucrose. Indole — ; M.R. — ; V.P. ^; 



nitrates-!-; NHj-f-; HgS slight -(- ; methylene blue reduced; oatalase-|-. 



Litmus milk, slow peptonization and decolorization. Starch is hydrolysed. 

 Pathogenicity. — Non-pathogenic to man and animals. 



B. cereus Frankland 



This organism is one of the large-celled species. Its exact identity is doubtful. 

 Lamanna (1940c), who studied 31 strains, found three distinct pliysiolngical groups, and 

 concluded that B. cereus represents a group of organisms rather than a single species. 

 It is generally described as an organism 3-7 /n X 1-1-2 ju, forming ovoid, non-bulging, 

 sub-terminal spores. Large, smooth, irregular, very finely granular colonies on agar 

 with a rhizoid perijihery. Abundant, smooth, glistening, whitish growth on agar slope. 

 Very marked turbidity in broth with formation of a surface pellicle and a cottony deposit. 

 Filiform growth in gelatin with fine ramified offshoots ; infundibuliform liquefaction. 

 Range of growth 10°-40° C. Forms acid in glucose and maltose ; Indole — ; HgS — ; 

 V.P. — ; nitrates usually reduced to nitrites; litmus milk decolorized, coagulated, and 

 slowly peptonized ; starch hydrolysis variable. The spore antigen seems to differ from 

 that of B. megatherium. 



B. rotans. 



The interest of this organism, which was described by Roberts (1935), lies in the fact 

 that its colonies ai'e motile. Two sorts of co-ordinated motility are displayed, rotation 

 and migration. Rotation may occur either clockwise, or anti-clockwise, and is common 

 in the early stages of colony formation. Later the whole colony migrates, pursuing an 

 involved and sometimes spiral course, leaving behind it a few cells to mark its snail-like 

 track. Unlilie Proteus, this organism moves freely even on a dry surface. Other organ- 

 isms showing colonial migration have been described by Smith and Clark (1938), Russ- 

 Miinzer (1938), Shinn (1938), and Turner and Bales (1941) under such names as B. circulans 

 and B. alvei. The organism studied by Turner and Bales formed colonies that migrated 

 at 37° C. at the rate of 2-5 mm. per minute. 



As well as the more common representatives, there are large numbers of other 

 organisms that have been described, such as B. polymyxa Migula, B. alholactiis 

 Migula, B. fusiformis Gottheil, B. coharens Gottheil, B. terminalis Migula, B. 

 petasites Gottheil, B. tumescens Zopf, and B. graveolens Gottheil. For their 

 description the reader is referred to the publications of Loeffler 1887, Globig 

 1888, Hueppe and Wood 1889, Flugge 1896, Lehmann and Neumann 1896, Hartleb 

 and Stutzer 1897, Chester 1901, Gottheil 1901, Schulz 1901, Bainbridge 1903, 

 Neide 1904, Neufeld 1913, Poppe 1913, 1922, Senge 1913, Pokschischewsky 1914, 

 Ford 1916, Laubach 1916, Bergey 1939, and to the monograph of de Soriano, 1935. 



REFERENCES 



AxENFELD, T. (1908) "The Bacteriology of the Eye." London. 



AoKi, K. and Yamamoto, K. (1939) Z. ImmunForsch., 95, 374. 



Bainbridge, F. A. (1903) J. Path. Bad., 8, 117. 



Balteano, L. (1922) Ann. Inst. Pasteur, 36, 805. 



Bary, H. A. DE. (1884) " Vergleicheiide Morphologie und Biologie der Pilze, Mycetozoen , 



und Bakterien." Leipzig. 

 Basset, .1. (1925) C. R. Soc. Bid., 93, 1513, 1515, 1517. 

 Behring. (1889) Z. Hyg. InfelctKr., 7, 171. 

 Bergey, 1). H. (1939) "Manual of Determinative Bacteriology." 5th ed. William 



Wilkins, Baltimore. 

 BoDON, G. and Tomcsik, J. (1934) Proc. Soc. exp. Biol, N.Y., 32, 122. 

 Bonoert, J. (1903) Zbl. Bakt., 34, 497, 623, 772. 

 Bordet, J. and Renaxjx, E. (1930) Ann. Inst. Pasteur, 45, 1. 



