FAMILY VII. MICROCOCCACEAE 



471 



Hydrogen sulfide is produced. 

 No acid from glucose, lactose or sucrose. 

 Nitrites generally produced from nitrates. 

 Aerobic. 



Optimum temperature, 25° C. 

 Habitat: Air, soil and water; also found 

 on skin surfaces. 



6. Sarcina flava de Bary, 1887. (Vorle- 

 sungen iiber Bakterien, 1887, 151.) 



fla'va. L. adj. flavus j^ellow. 



Spheres, 1.0 to 2.0 microns in diameter, 

 occurring in packets of 16 to 32 cells. Gram- 

 positive. 



Gelatin colonies: Small, circular, yellow- 

 ish. 



Gelatin stab: Slowly liquefied. 



Agar slant: Yellow streak. 



Broth: Slowly becoming turbid with whit- 

 ish, later yellowish, sediment. 



Litmus milk: Alkaline, not coagulated. 



Potato: Yellow streak. 



Indole not produced. 



Nitrites not produced from nitrates. 



Aerobic. 



Optimum temperature, between 30° and 

 35° C. 



Habitat: Air, water and soil. 



7. Sarcina aiirantiaca Hiigge, 1886. 

 (Die Mikroorganismen, 1886, 180.) 



au.ran.ti'a.ca. M.L. noun aurantium the 

 orange; M.L. adj. aurantiacus orange- 

 colored. 



Spheres which occur in packets in all 

 media. Gram-positive. 



Gelatin colonies: Small, circular, dark 

 yellow, entire, sinking into the medium. 



Gelatin stab: Infundibuliform liquefac- 

 tion. 



Agar slant : Slightly raised, orange- yellow 

 to orange-red, soft, smooth growth. 



Broth: Flocculent turbidity with abun- 

 dant sediment. 



Litmus milk: Coagulation and digestion. 



Potato: Raised, yellow-orange, glisten- 

 ing to dull, granular growth. 



Slight indole production. 



Hydrogen sulfide not produced. 



Nitrites not produced from nitrates. 



Aerobic. 



Optimum temperature, 30° C. 



Habitat: Air and water. 



8. Sarcina litoralis Poulsen, 1879. 

 (Poulsen, Vidensk. Meddel. naturh. Foren. 

 i Copenhagen, 1 and 2, 1879-1880, 231; 

 Halococcus litoralis Schoop, Deutsch. Tier- 

 arztl. Wochnschr., 43, 1935, 817.) 



li.to.ra'lis. L. adj. litoralis pertaining 

 to the shore. 



Description taken from Lochhead (Can. 

 Jour. Res., 10, 1934, 280). 



Spheres, 1.2 to 1.6 microns in diameter, 

 occurring singly, in pairs, fours, short 

 chains and in packets, the arrangement 

 varying with the medium, temperature, salt 

 concentration and age of culture. Non-mo- 

 tile. Gram-variable, with rather more posi- 

 tive than negative cells. 



No growth in ordinary media. 



Salt gelatin: Growth slow, with no lique- 

 faction. 



Starch media (20 per cent salt) : Colonies 

 usually 1 to 3 mm in diameter, round, en- 

 tire, convex with a waxy appearance, brick- 

 red with a pale border, color appearing 

 graduall.y. 



Starch media slants (20 per cent salt) : 

 Growth filiform, slightly raised, entire. 

 Coral-red in color. Slight decrease in shade 

 as cultures age. 



Liquid media: No growth. 



Potato: In 20 per cent salt, scant growth. 

 Slight, chalky pink development near the 

 top. 



Indole not produced. 



Diastatic action negative. 



Nitrites produced from nitrates. 



Halophilic, obligate; growth in 16 to 32 

 per cent salt. Optimum growth in 20 to 24 

 per cent salt. 



Aerobic. 



Optimum temperature, 37° C. 



Comments: It appears quite possible 

 that this species is identical with Micrococ- 

 cus morrhuae Klebahn. Tetrads are men- 

 tioned by the majority of investigators, but 

 few if any mention packets. Comparative 

 studies using suitable methods for growing 

 these organisms are needed. 



Source : Isolated from seashore mud near 

 Copenhagen; also from salted hides and 

 salted fish. 



Habitat: Sea-water brine or sea salt. 



