592 Marine Microbiology 



Similarly, the description of the genus Alginohacter should 

 be extended to include the bacteria which hydrolyze agar and 

 other algal polysaccharides. 



The system proposed in Bergey's manual becomes more com- 

 plex when the bacteria which use polysaccharides other than agar 

 and alginic acid are investigated. Recently bacteria have been 

 isolated that use k and A carrageenan (17). Most of these bacteria 

 could use agar and/or alginic acid but a few strains were isolated 

 which did not hydrolyze these polysaccharides. It is undesirable 

 to establish a new genus to classify these bacteria. Therefore, it is 

 proposed that the specifications for the above named genera be 

 broadened so as to include bacteria which attack carrageenan. 

 Consideration also should be given to change the prefix Algin 

 and Agar to a word such as Phycus which would indicate that the 

 bacteria in these genera can use a number of different algal 

 polysaccharides. The names of the genera would thus be changed 

 to Phycornonas, Phycobacterium and Phycohacter. 



If the use of these algal polysaccharides is not considered a 

 suitable property to characterize a genus, then the bacteria should 

 be classified as sub groups of Pseudomonas and Achramobacter- 



REFERENCES 



1. Adams, J. N., Williams, Joy, and Payne, W. J.: Agarbacterium Al- 



ginicum. The appropriate taxonomic designation for Alginomonas 

 alginica. J. Bacterial, 81:162, 1961. 



2. Araki, C: Seaweed polysaccharides. Proc. Fourth Intern. Congress of 



Biochem. Vienna, Pergamon Press, New York, 1958. 



3. Clingman, a. L. and Nunn, J. R.: Red-seaweed polysaccharides. Part 



III. Polysaccharide from Hijpnea specifera. J. Chem. Sac, 493-498, 

 1959. 



4. Clingman, A. L., Nunn, J. R. and Stephen, A. M.: Red-seaweed poly- 



saccharides Part I. Gracilaria confervoides. J. Chem. Sac., 197-207, 

 1957. 



5. Haug, a.: Ion exchange properties of Alginate fractions. Acta Chem. 



Scand., 13:1250-1251, 1959. 



6. Humm, H. J.: Marine agar digesting bacteria of the south Atlantic 



coast. Bull. No. 3, Duke Univ. Marine Lab. 45-75, 1946. 



7. O'Neill, A. N. and Stewart, D. K. R.: On the structure of agar from 



Gelidium cartilagineum. Can. J. Chem., 34:1700-1703, 1956. 



8. Painter, T. J.: The polysaccharides of Fwcellaria fastigiuta. I. Isola- 



