UAROIN 



THE RELATION OF VITAIMINES TO THE GROWTH OF 

 A STREPTOCOCCUS^ 



S. HENRY AYERS and COURTLAND S. MUDGE 



From the Research Laboratories of the Dairy Division, United States Department 



of Agriculture 



The importance of vitamines in animal nutrition has led to a 

 little experimental work with bacteria. Results of various in- 

 vestigators have caused the belief that certain materials such as 

 animal and plant tissues contain growth accessor}' substances 

 which stimulate the growth of microorganisms and which with 

 some bacteria are essential for growth. 



Among the studies along this line may be mentioned the work 

 of Cole and Lloyd (1917), Paccinni and Russell (1918), Hall 

 (1918), Agulhon and Legroux (1918), Kligler (1919), Bachman 

 (1919), ^Yilliams (1919), Willaman (1920), Davis (1921), Rivers 

 and Poole (1921), and MacLeod and Wyon (1921). In some 

 papers the growth-promoting substances are spoken of as 

 growth-accessories substances, and in others as vitamines. The 

 work in general clearly indicates that for some microorganisms 

 there are present in certain materials growth-promoting sub- 

 stances. As long as this term is used, one is not committed to 

 the assumption that these substances may be vitamines. Glu- 

 cose in small amounts is a growth-promoting substance for many 

 bacteria, in fact any easily available source of carbon can be 

 considered a growth-promoting substance. If, however, the 

 substances which have been found to be growth promoters are 

 classed as vitamines, then there is a great possibility of investi- 

 gators being misled as to the real connection between the recog- 

 nized vitamines and the growth of microorganisms. 



In this paper we shall present the results of a few experiments 



• Presented at twenty-third annual meeting, Society of American Bacteriolo- 

 gists, Philadelphia, December 27, 1921. 



449 



JOUnXAL OP BACTEBIOLOQT, VOL. Til, NO. 5 



