54 



THE ACTIXOMYCETES, Vol. I 



Figure 23. S. fradiae, another spiral producing organism. 



that the actiiiomycetes should be classified 

 with the bacteria, under the Schizomycetes. 

 No wonder that Afanassiev suggested in 

 1889 that the filament of an actinomycete 

 is a gigantically elongated bacterial cell. 

 Among the other earlier investigators, the 

 following considered actinomycetes as bac- 

 teria: Cohn, Bostroem, Wolff and Israel, 

 Berestnew, and Lieske. ^^arious subsequent 

 investigators emphasized the particular re- 

 lationship of certain actinomycetes, notably 

 the Nocardia group, to the mycobacteria. 



Grootten, for example, (19:U) analyzed the 

 relationship between the actinomycetes and 

 the hyphomycetes, on the one hand, and the 

 bacteria, on the other. He emphasized that 

 the fact that actinomycetes are often 

 branched does not justify in itself their clas- 

 sification with the fungi, since certain bac- 

 teria {M ycobacU-rium, Corynebactcrium, etc.) 



can, under certain conditions, give branching 

 forms. Further, the cytological structure of 

 the actinomycetes, characterized by the ab- 

 sence of well-defined morphological nuclei, 

 definitely places them with the bacteria. He 

 concluded that the Actinomycetales are 

 closely related to the Mycobacteriales, as 

 characterized by the evidence of bacillary 

 and filamentous forms taking the Gram 

 stain, sometimes by acid resistance, and by 

 capability of branching. 



Relationship to Jnngi. The relation of the 

 actinomycetes to fungi, especially the Fungi 

 Imperfect!, was based upon the following 

 similarities: 



1. The production and maimer of branch- 

 ing of the aerial mycelium and the manner 

 of spore formation, especially in the genera 

 Strcptotnyces, M icromonospora, Walsmania. 



