274 



ORDER II. CHLAMYDOBACTERIALES 



rounding the trichomes are very thin, delicate, colorless sheaths which do not store iron or 

 manganese compounds. The cells are small and disc-shaped and are uniform in size. Conidia 

 of the same diameter as the cells are produced. Found in salt water. 



Hansgirg (Bot. Ztg., 49, 1891, 313) concluded that Phragmidiothrix should be included in 

 the genus Crenothrix, and that the genus Crenothrix should be divided into two sections, 

 Eitcrenothrix and Phragmidiothrix. 



The type species is Phragmidiothrix viuUise'ptata (Engler) Engler. 



1. Phragmidiothrix niultiseptata 



(Engler, 1882) Engler, 1883. (Beggiatoa 

 jnultisepiata Engler, Verhandl. bot. Ver. 

 Brandenburg, U, 1882, 19; Engler, Vierter 

 Ber. d. Commission z. wissensch. Unters. d. 

 deutsch. Meere in Kiel fur 1877 bis 1881, I 

 Abt., 1883, 187; also see Zopf, Die Spaltpilze, 

 1883, 104.) 



mul.ti.sep.ta'ta. L. mas.n. multus much; 

 L. adj. septatus fenced; M.L. adj. multisep- 

 tatus much-fenced, with many septa. 



Colorless trichomes, several millimeters 

 long, which form grayish white tufts. The 

 trichomes are sessile; when young they are 

 1.5 microns wide, but when older they meas- 

 ure 2 to 3 microns at their bases and 5 to 6 

 microns at their tips. Very thin, delicate 

 sheaths which are not encrusted with iron 

 or manganese oxides surround the tri- 



chomes. The cells are disc-shaped, their 

 width being 1.5 to 4.0 microns while their 

 length is only }4: to l^ this size. Each cell 

 has a very thin, colorless membrane and 

 some hyaline granules. 



When mature, the cells in the upper por- 

 tion of the trichomes divide longitudinally 

 and transversely and form uniformly sized 

 conidia (1 micron in diameter). These co- 

 nidia may be extruded, may become free by 

 decomposition of the sheath, or they may 

 germinate within the sheath. The extruded 

 conidia may produce zoogloeal masses be- 

 fore they germinate. 



Source: From the body of a crustacean 

 (Gammarus locusta) from sea water; also 

 found on seaweeds in polluted water on the 

 shores of the northern Adriatic. 



Habitat : Found in polluted salt water. 



Genus III. Clonothrix Roze, 1896. 



(Roze, Jour, de Botanic, 10, 1896, 325; also proposed independently 

 by Schorler, Cent. f. Bakt., II Abt., 12, 1904, 689.) 



Clo'no.thrix. Gr. noun clon, clonis twig, slip; Gr. noun thrix, trichis hair; M.L. fem.n. 

 Clonothrix twig hair. 



Attached trichomes showing false branching as in Sphaerotihis. Sheaths organic, encrusted 

 with iron or manganese, broader at the base and tapering toward the tip. Cells colorless, 

 cylindrical. Reproduction by spherical conidia formed in chains by transverse fission of 

 cells; conidia formation acropetal, limited to short branches of the younger portions of the 

 trichomes. 



The type species is Clonothrix putealis (Kirchner) Beger. 



1. Clonothrix putealis (Kirchner, 1878) 

 Beger, 1953. {Glaucothrix putealis Kirchner, 

 Kryptogamen-Flora von Schlesien, 2, 1, 

 1878, 229; Clonothrix fusca Roze, Jour, de 

 Botanic, 10, 1896, 325; Beger, in Beger and 

 Bringmann, Zent. f. Bakt., II Abt., 107, 

 1953, 327.) 



pu.te.a'lis. L. adj. putealis belonging to a 

 well. 



Ensheathed trichomes, up to 0.6 mm long, 

 which show false branching and which taper 

 towards the tip; the bases of the trichomes 



measure 7 microns and the tips measure 2 

 microns in diameter. The sheaths may be- 

 come encrusted with oxides of manganese 

 and/or iron, particularly those of manga- 

 nese. Sheath encrustations may reach a 

 thickness of 24 microns when manganese 

 oxides are prevalent and 10 microns when 

 iron oxides are abundant. Cells cj'lindrical 

 with rounded ends, 2 by 10 microns, be- 

 coming larger toward the base and smaller 

 toward the tips of the trichomes. 

 Multiplication by extrusion of single cells 



