FAMILY XIII. BACILLACEAE 



G19 



Source: Isolated from the blood of in- 

 fected animals. 



Habitat: Man and animals with anthrax. 



4. Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner, 1915. 

 (Ztschr. f. angew. Ent., Beihefte 2, 1915, 29.) 



thur.in.gi.en'sis. M.L. gen. noun thurin- 

 giensis of Thuringia; named for Thuringia, 

 a German province. 



Rods same as those of Bacillus cereus. 



Spore size and shape the same as in 

 Bacillus cereus. 



Sporangia not definitely swollen. Spores 

 tend to lie obliquely in the sporangium; 

 after aging, a knob of protoplasm remains 

 at each end. These so-called crystalline 

 inclusion bodies are described in greater 

 detail by Steinhaus (Hilgardia, 23, 1954, 1) 

 and by Hannay (Nature, 172, 1953, 1004). 

 The significance of the crystals has not been 

 determined. 



Other cultural and biochemical characters 

 are the same as for Bacillus cereus. 



As in the case of Bacillus antkracis, Smith 

 et al. considered Bacillus thuringiensis as a 

 pathogenic variety of Bacillus cereus. From 

 the practical standpoint, it seems best to 

 retain it as a separate species in the Man- 

 ual. 



Pathogenicity: Cause of death of larvae 

 of certain insects. 



Source: Isolated from the larvae of the 

 flour moth (Ephestia kuehniella Zell). 



Habitat: Diseased insects. 



5. Bacillus licheniforinis (Weigmann, 

 1898) Chester, 1901, emend. Gibson, 1937. 

 {Clostridium licheniforme Weigmann, Cent, 

 f. Bakt., II Abt., 4, 1898, 820; Bacillus lichen- 

 iformis Chester, Man. Determ. Bact., 1901, 

 287; Gibson, Soc. Agr. Bact., Abs. Proc, 

 1937; also see Jour. Dairy Res., 13, 1944, 

 248.) 



li.che.ni.for'mis. Gr. noun lichen a tree 

 moss, lichen; L. noun forma shape; M.L. 

 adj. licheniformis lichen-shaped. 



Rods, 0.6 to 0.8 by 1.5 to 3.0 microns, stain 

 uniformly, not in chains. Not encapsulated. 

 Motile. Gram-positive. Variations: Rods, 

 0.5 to 0.9 by 1.2 microns, to long filaments. 

 Encapsulated. Shadow-forms. Non-motile. 



Spores, 0.6 to 0.9 by 1.0 to 1.5 microns, 

 ellipsoidal to cylindrical, central or para- 



central, thin-walled. Many formed in 48 

 hours at 37° C. Variations: Slightly smaller 

 or larger. Only a few are formed in 2 or 3 

 weeks. 



Spore germination is equatorial without 

 splitting of the spore coat along transverse 

 a.xis (Lamanna, Jour. Bact., 44, 1942, 611; 

 Burdon and Wende, Bact. Proc, 1952, 46). 



Sporangia not definitely swollen; fre- 

 quently resemble rods with bipolar staining. 



Gelatin stab: Rapid crateriform to strati- 

 form liquefaction. 



Gelatin agar streak plate: Wide zone of 

 hydrolysis. 



Agar colonies: Large, spreading; surface 

 rough or rugose; hairy outgrowths. Offwhite. 

 Variations: Smooth, entire or lobate. 



Agar slants: Growth abundant, rough, 

 opaque, adherent, spreading, with hairy 

 outgrowths. Matt surface. Variations: 

 Smooth, thin, non-adherent, rugose. 



Glucose agar slants: Growth heavy, 

 rugose, often with extruded droplets or 

 mucoid vesicles on surface. Usually hairy 

 outgrowths from line of inoculation. 

 Sometimes gas produced at 37° C. 



Glucose nitrate agar slants: Growth slow, 

 scant to abundant, with hairy outgrowths. 

 Offwhite to brownish red. Sometimes gas 

 is produced. 



Soybean agar slants: Growth softer and 

 more abundant than on agar. Brownish to 

 reddish, often purplish at the bottom. Drop- 

 lets extruded. Variations: Matt surface. 

 Folded growth. 



Tyrosine agar slants: Same as agar slants. 



Broth: Clear with heavy, wrinkled, tough 

 pellicle. Variations: Flocculent or uniform 

 turbidity, with or without fragile pellicle. 



NaCl broth: Good growth in 5 to 8 per 

 cent NaCl, inhibition with higher concen- 

 trations. In a few cases, growth in 12 per 

 cent. 



Milk agar streak plate: Usually narrow 

 zone of hydrolj^sis of the casein. 



Potato: Growth heavy, spreading, wrin- 

 kled, warty, with extruded droplets. Pink. 

 Submerged portion of potato red to violet. 

 Variations: Soft. Offwhite. 



Acid but no gas (with ammonium salts 

 as source of nitrogen) from arabinose, xy- 

 lose, glucose, sucrose and mannitol. Acid 

 production variable from lactose. 



