432 GENERAL SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY 



Proteae. The seventh tribe of the family Bacillaceae named by 

 Castellani and Chahners (1919, p. 932) with the description: "Bacil- 

 laceae growing well on ordinary laboratory media, not forming endo- 

 spores, aerobic, without fluorescence or pigment formation, but liquefy- 

 ing gelatine." 



Two genera are included, Proteus and Cloaca. 



Proteobacter. A name used by Beijerinck (1900, p. 195). In a 

 discussion of hydrogen sulphide production he says, 



Wenn die Quantitat der organischer Korper im Schlamme sehr gross ist, wie, 

 z. B. in den Stadtgraben zu Delft, wo Gerberien und Brennerieien ihre Abwasser 

 seit langer Zeit darin geleert haben, so sind die Lebensbedingungen ftir die 

 gewohnlichen Anaeroben der Eiweissfaulnis gegeben, wahrend Spirillum desul- 

 furicans infolge der Anhaufung organischer Korper, zuriicktritt. Von den bei 

 der Eiweissfaulnis in Betracht kommenden. Arten habe ich die drei wichstigs- 

 ten (Proteobacter septicum, P. skatol, P. pseudopulcher) bei einer anderen Gele- 

 genheit besprochen. Es hat sich gegeben, dass diese Mikroben nicht nur 

 Schwefelwasserstoff erzeugen, sondern auch die entsetzlichem Sulfiden der 

 Mercaptangruppe. 



Proteus. A generic name used by Hauser (1885, p. 1) to designate 

 three species of putrefactive bacteria, Proteus vulgaris, P. rnirabilis 

 and P. Zenkeri. No discussion or definition of the generic name is 

 given apart from the species description. All the species agree in 

 showing great variability in morphology; short and long rods, filaments, 

 and spirals, and many involution forms may be observed. AU are 

 motile by means of peritrichous flagella, none produce spores. All 

 the species produce "islands" on the surface of moist soHd media, 

 these seem to be endowed with some motility. All the species are 

 closely associated with decay and putrefaction. 



This name is regarded as a synonym of Bacillus by De Toni and 

 Trevisan (1889) and of SpiruUna by Hueppe (1891). The genus is 

 recognized by Cornil and Babes (1890, p. 151) subsequent writers have 

 practically all until recently regarded the term as synonomous with 

 Bacillus, and have not considered its pleomorphism as distinctive. 



Lehmann and Neumann (1896, p. 103) make it a synonym of Bac- 

 terium. 



Mace (1897, p. 487) says that Proteus cannot be separated from 

 Bacillus. Erwin F. Smith (1905, p. 174) includes Proteus in his hst 

 of genera to be rejected. Orla-Jensen (1909, p. 338) makes Proteus a 

 synonym of Liquidobacterium. 



