GENERAL SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY 161 



Actinobacterium. A generic name proposed by Haass (1906, 

 p. 180) to apply to two strains of organisms termed by him Actino- 

 myces Klinik I and II which were found to differ from all of eleven other 

 types studied. These were isolated from pus from cases of human 

 actinomycosis. They were similar to the forms described by Wolff 

 and Israel, by Silberschmidt and by Wright as anaerobes. The organ- 

 isms had short cells, somewhat branched, and were Gram-positive. 

 Haass notes that Lignieres and Spitz previously used the generic 

 name Actinobacillus for a similar type. He believes the genus to be 

 intermediate between Actinomyces and Corynebacterium. Sampietro 

 (1908, p. 331) described an Actinobacterium israeli var, spitzi. 



No species of the genus was named by Haass, if valid therefore it 

 should be credited to Sampietro. It may perhaps be regarded as a 

 synonym of Actinomyces. 



Reitz (1906, p. 731) apparently confused this name with Actino- 

 bacter (q.v.) and refers to Actinobacterium lactis viscosum. 



Actinocladothrix. A generic name ascribed to Affanassieff by Levy 

 (1899, p. 2), by Schlegel (1913, p. 303), and by others. It seems 

 probable that they are in error in giving the name generic rank. Affanas- 

 sieff (1888, p. 79) himself gave the name Bacterium actinocladothrix to 

 an Actinomyces. De Toni and Trevisan (1889, p. 928) also give the 

 synonym Bacterium actinocladothrix Afanassjew 1888 to Nocardia 

 Actinomyces Trevisan (Actinomyces bovis Harz.) Brumpt (1910, p. 844) 

 gives the name the same specific form. The use of the name Actino- 

 cladothrix as a generic designation is therefore based upon false premises. 

 The correct generic designation would seem to be Actinomyces. 



Actinococcus. A name proposed by Kiitzing for a genus of algae, 

 included by Pfeiffer (1870, p. 11) in the tribe Chaetophorae. 



Beijerinck (1914, p. 196) suggested the generic name Actinococcus 

 to apply to a bacterial species A. cyaneus. Beijerinck isolated this 

 organism from garden soil on a medium particularly adapted to the 

 culture of Actinomyces, containing glucose, calcium malate, ammonium 

 sulphite, dipotassium phosphate and agar. Gelatin was liquefied slowly, 

 and agar made alkaline by the formation of ammonium carbonate. In a 

 medium with peptone the color is rose, with glucose and nitrate of potas- 

 sium or ammonium it remains violet. Ammonium acetate is very 

 favorable for the production of the violet color. The pigment is blue 

 with alkalies and red with acids. The organism he believes belongs with 

 the genera Corynebacterium, Mycobacterium and Actinomyces. This 

 relationship is indicated by the dry colonies, the disposition of the cell 



