15. Acetofttonas 



The bacteria which are used for the commercial production 

 of vinegar may be classified into two groups which are distinctly 

 different both physiologically and morphologically. For these 

 groups the generic names Acetomonas and Acetobacter have been 

 suggested. In the genus Acetobacter are placed the organisms 

 which oxidize acetic acid ( and some other acids ) to carbon dioxide 

 and water, and have peritrichous flagella, if any. In the genus 

 Acetomon^as are placed the organisms wliich do not oxidize acetic 

 acid and which have polar flagella, if any (Fig. 17). 



Ten cultures representing the various named species of Aceto- 

 monas were studied. Five of these were received from Prof. 

 Frateur of Louvain University in Belgium, and five from W. B. 

 Haynes of the U.S.D.A. in Peoria, Illinois. All were physiologically 

 and culturally typical of the genus. Nine of the cultures were 

 motile and one was nonmotile. 



Flagellar Characteristics 



The motility and flagellation of Acetomonas is generally much 

 better than that of Acetobacter. All strains showed polar multi- 

 trichous flagellation with flagella of uniform shape and quite short 

 wavelength. The number of flagella per individual varied among 

 the strains with some strains showing many monotrichous indi- 

 viduals, others only a few. The flagellar wavelengths of all the 

 strains averaged 1.4 microns with a range of 1.2 to 1.5 microns. 

 This wavelength is unusually short for polar multitrichous bacteria 

 and strikingly different from the polar multitrichous pseudomonads. 



44 



