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THE ACTINOMYCETES, Vol. II 



organisms, so far, has not been reported as 

 containing any significant antibiotic-pro- 

 ducing forms. Although one of the first 

 preparations possessing certain antibacterial 

 properties ever recorded for a culture of an 

 actinomycete was said to have been obtained 

 from a member of the Albus group (Gratia 

 and Dath, 1925), it is open to question 

 whether the particular culture was a true 

 S. albus. According to Pridham and Lyons 

 ( 1960), this organism should be considered 

 as more closely related to the Griseus group. 



Species belonging to the Albus series are 

 found in soil and in dust. Various early in- 

 vestigators, notably Almquist, Gasperini, 

 Rossi-Doria, Beijerinck, and Sanfelice, re- 

 ported the isolation of organisms belonging 

 to this series. 



Various systems of classification of the 

 Albus series have been proposed. Attention 

 may be directed here to the fact that at one 

 time or another all the sporulating actino- 

 mycetes, especially the saprophytic forms, 

 mostly now recognized as belonging to the 

 genus Streptomyces, were classified (sec Bei- 

 jerinck, 1900, for example) into two groups: 

 (1) .1. albus (Streptothrix alba), comprising 

 those forms that produce a white aerial 

 mycelium and no soluble pigment; (2) .4. 

 chromog<- tins (Streptothrix chromogena), in- 

 cluding those forms that produce a black 

 pigment on protein media. Duche appeared 

 to follow this system as late as 1934, since 

 he included in his monograph (Duche, 

 1934) on the actinomycetes only those spe- 

 cies that were said to belong to the .1. albus 

 group. In view of the significance of the 

 specific name "albus," representing the type 

 culture of the genus Streptomyces, it may be 

 of interest to trace the usage of this name in 

 the literature on the actinomycetes. 



In presenting this historical summary, the 

 writer has taken full advantage of the com- 

 ments concerning this group made by 

 Baldacci (1939), who is frequently quoted 

 here almost verbatim. Baldacci recorded 



about 30 synonyms, some of which are 

 listed in Table 1 1. (Others were not included, 

 since they are not considered as typical of 

 the group). 



The name "alba" was first applied to an 

 actinomycete culture by Rossi-Doria (1891). 

 He established the characteristics of this 

 organism, indicating its synonymy with the 

 cultures previously characterized by Alm- 

 quist (1890); he also identified it with a 

 culture designated as Streptothrix Foersteri, 

 isolated from the air by Gasperini (1890). 

 Rossi-Doria refused to accept the identi- 

 fication of this organism with Streptothrix 

 Foersteri Cohn. He said: "Nothing in 

 the description given by Cohn can justify 

 such an idea. In that description, in fact, 

 only generic characters are given; of spe- 

 cific characters there does not exist even a 

 shadow." The three cultures of Almquist 

 appeared to differ little among themselves. 

 Since one (culture I) was said to form a 

 white crust changing in time to gray, Bal- 

 dacci preferred to exclude it from the syno- 

 nymity with the .1. albus. Gasperini (1894) 

 recognized the difference between .4. albus 

 and A. chromogenus. The latter possessed 

 chromogenic properties, the pigment diffus- 

 ing into the substrate. 



Sanfelice (1904) was the first to divide 

 into three groups the actinomycetes now 

 recognized as belonging to the genus Strepto- 

 myces, using S. albus as the represent at ive 

 of the first of these groups. He noted that- 

 some of the cultures belonging to this group 

 may produce a black pigment when grown 

 on potato. lie added quite significantly: 

 "On the basis of this observation, a super- 

 ficial observer may create a new species out 

 of a pigmented culture without considering 

 the fact that it originated from Str. alba." 



Krainsky (1 ( .)14) isolated from garden soil 

 a culture which he described as .1. albus. 

 This culture produced a well developed 

 growth, white at first, then becoming gray 

 on certain media such as glucose agar and 



