FAMILY VII. SPIRILLACEAE 



257 



width 4 to 5 microns. Slightly attenuated 

 ends. Dark granules of volutin are present 

 in the cytoplasm. Motile, possessing a tuft 

 of ten to fifteen fiagella at each pole. Gram- 

 negative. 



Migula (Syst. d. Bakt., 2, 1900, 1025) 

 reports that this species has not been 

 cultivated on artificial media and that the 

 cultures described by Kutscher (Ztschr. f. 

 Hyg., 20, 1895, 58) as Spirillum volutans 

 are of a different species. Vahle (Cent. f. 

 Hakt., II Abt., 25, 1910, 237) later describes 

 the cultural characters of an organism which 

 he regards as identical with Kutscher's 

 organism. Giesberger (Inaug. Diss., Delft, 

 1936, 65) saw what he felt was the true 

 Spirillum volutans but could not cultivate 

 it. 



Optimum temperature, 35° C. 



Habitat: Stagnant water. 



9. Spirillum lipoferum Beijerinck, 1925. 

 (Azotobacier spirillum Beijerinck, Kon. 

 Akad. Wetensch. Amsterdam, 30, 1923, 431, 

 ([uoted from Giesberger, Inaug. Diss., 

 Delft., 1936, 24; Beijerinck, Cent. f. Bakt., 

 II Abt., 63, 1925, 353.) 



li.po'fe.rum. Gr. noun lipus fat; L. v.fero 

 to carry; M.L. adj. lipoferus fat-bearing. 



Curved cells with one-half to one spiral 

 turn. Contain minute fat droplets which 

 ma}^ deform the cells. Motile by means of a 

 tuft of polar fiagella. Gram-negative. 



Calcium malate agar colonies: Circular, 

 small, transparent, dry. The malate is oxi- 

 dized to calcium carbonate. Cells contain 

 fat droplets. 



Peptone agar colonies: More abundant 

 development. Cells lack fat droplets and 

 are typically spirillum in form. 



Glucose peptone broth: Cells actively 

 motile with large fat droplets. 



Fixes atmospheric nitrogen in partially 

 pure cultures, i.e., free from Azotobacter 

 and Clostridium (Beijerinck, loc. cit.). 

 Schroder (Cent. f. Bakt., II Abt., 85, 1932, 

 17) failed to find fixation of nitrogen when 

 she used cultures derived from a single cell. 



Aerobic. 



Optimum temperature, 22° C. 



Beijerinck regards this as a transitional 

 form between Spirillum and Azotobacter. 

 Giesberger (op. cit., 1936, 64) thinks it a 

 Vibrio. 



Habitat: Garden soil. 



Genus VIII. Paraspirillum Dobell, 1912.* 

 (Arch. f. Protistenk., 2^, 1912, 97.) 



Pa.ra.spi.ril'lum. Gr. pref. para beside; M.L. neut.n. Spirillum a genus of bacteria; 

 M.L. neut.n. Paraspirillum Spirillum-like (organisms). 



Cells spiral or S-shaped, tapering toward the ends, wdth a well marked thickening toward 

 the middle of the body; resemble much elongated and spirally twisted spindles. Motile by 

 means of a single, polar flagellum. Found in fresh water. 



Dobell {loc. cit.) believes that this organism belongs to the Spirillaceae rather than to the 

 Spirochaetaceae . 



The type species is Paraspirillum vejdovskii Dobell. 



1. Paraspirillum vejdovskii Dobell, 

 1912. (Arch. f. Protistenk., 24, 1912, 97.) 



vej .dov'ski.i. M.L. gen. noun vejdovskii of 

 Vejdovsky; named for Prof. F. Vejdovsky. 



Spiral or S-shaped rods, tapering toward 

 the ends, 8 to 25 microns in length, averag- 

 ing 15 microns. Width, in the middle, 1.5 to 

 to 2.0 microns. A definite spherical to ellip- 

 soidal nucleus is present. The cytoplasm 

 immediately about the nucleus is hyaline 



or very finely granular. Volutin granules 

 are numerous between the hyaline area and 

 the ends of the cell. Locomotion is screw- 

 like, resembling that characteristic of spe- 

 cies of Spirillum. The motion is reversible, 

 and cells may swim in either direction. In 

 motion the cell seems to be rigid, but it may 

 increase or decrease the amount of bending. 

 Sometimes the cell is much-curved, at other 



Prepared by Prof. R. E. Buchanan, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa, July, 1952. 



