THE GENUS WAKSMANIA {MICROBISPORA 



2! Hi 



Potato: Growth dark reddish-brown. 

 Aerial mycelium has a slight trace of white. 



Gelatin: Growth on the bottom of tube 

 white, fluffy. Liquefaction slight. 



Milk: Growth on the bottom of the tube 

 white. Surface colonies orange-pink, at- 

 tached to sides of test tube. Coagulation 

 none ; peptonization complete after 1 month. 

 NO change in pH. 



Starch: Not hydrolyzed. 



Sucrose: No1 inverted. 



Cellulose: Attacked to a very limited de- 

 gree. 



Nitrate reduction: Negative. 



Temperature: The organism is a meso- 

 phile, growing well at 25-35°C. It produces 

 only sparse growth at 40°C, and does not 

 grow at all at 55°C. 



Antagonistic properties: None. 



Habitat: Soil. A culture of this organism 

 causing pericarditis and pleuritis has been 



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Figure 56. Waksmania rosea, schematic repre- 

 sentation of the formation of aerial mycelium and 

 spores (Reproduced from: Lechevalier, M. P. and 

 Lechevalier, H. J. Gen. Microbiol. 17: 108, 1957). 



4^1 



10/lt 



Figure 57. Waksmania (Microbispora) rosea: A. 

 sporulation; B. chlamydospores; C. germination 

 of conidia (Reproduced from: Xonomura, H. and 

 Ohara, Y. J. Fermentation Technol. 35:307, 1957). 



recently isolated by Louria and Gordon 

 (I960). 



Remarks: Thiamine and biotin are es- 

 sential for growth; biotin also controls pig- 

 mentation. Ammonium compounds, nitrates, 

 and urea are not utilized as sources of 

 nitrogen. Asparagine, glutamic acid, and 

 peptone are good sources. 



Type cultures: IMRU 3748, 3757. 



Xonomura and Ohara (1900a) found the 

 genus Waksmania (Microbispora) widely 

 distributed in soils of Japan. When a par- 

 ticle of soil was placed on soil-extract agar in 

 a Petri dish, colonies of this group of organ- 

 isms appeared around the soil particle after 

 a few weeks incubation at 30°C. Five species 

 and two varieties were recognized, including 

 .1/. amethystogenes, .1/. amethystogenes var. 

 nonreducans, M. parva, M. chro?nogencs, M. 

 diastatica, and M. rosea var. nonnitritogenes. 



A system of classification of these species 

 and varieties was proposed, based upon then- 

 growth on different media, nitrate reduction 

 to nitrite, production of soluble pigment . and 

 hydrolysis of starch. Some of the strains pro- 

 duced violet crystals, insoluble in water but 

 soluble in benzene. Thiamine was required 

 for growth of all strains, biotin to a limited 

 extent. 



