Feb. i6, 1920 



Invertase Activity of Mold Spores 



541 



Table IV. — The influence of numbers of spores on the invertase activity of mold spores 

 in JO per cent sugar solutions 



BLUE ASPERGILLUS 



Number of spwres per cubic centimeter of solution. 



Control 

 80,000 . 

 40,000 . 

 20,000 . 

 10,000 . 

 5,000. 



Gain in 

 reducing 

 sugars. 



Per cent. 



I. 81 



I. 21 



•53 

 . 10 



PENICILLIUM EXPANSUM 



Control 



440,000 

 220,000 

 110,000 



55,000 



28,000 



07 



17 



40 



o 



ASPERGILLUS NIGER 



Control 



400,000 



200,000 



100,000 



50,000 



25,000 



66.4 



64. o 



65-3 

 66.5 

 66.3 



66.3 



2. 4 



0.81 

 I- 31 



I. 07 

 .86 



D. 50 



■ 19 

 .26 



•05 

 •07 



While the limitations of the data herein presented are clearly recognized 

 to the extent that it is known to be exceedingly hazardous to state the 

 limits of enzymic activity in terms of such units, because of the variations 

 which must exist between different strains of the same species, neverthe- 

 less the results are suggestive in their bearing upon the practical problem 

 of sugar deterioration. A certain correlation to be emphasized is that the 

 blue aspergillus, which was found to have the greatest capacity for dete- 

 riorating sugar (besides occurring with greatest frequency), has spores 

 which appear to exhibit the most intense invertase activity in saturated 

 sugar solutions. Since we have pointed out that sugar inoculated with 

 spores of this mold deteriorated without the development of mycelia, the 

 conclusion would appear to be substantiated that mold spores alone, 

 if present in sufficient number, are capable of deteriorating sugar. 



