666 



ORDER IV. EUBACTERIALES 



cells. Motile by means of peritrichous fla- 

 gella. Gram-negative. 



Iron-gelatin (Spray) : No growth. 



Plain agar deep: No growth. 



Uric acid agar deep colonies: Whitish, 

 compact, lobate, 1 to 2 mm in diameter, 

 with irregular edges, surrounded by a zone 

 of precipitated ammonium ureate which 

 gradually disappears. 



Plain broth: No growth. 



Glucose broth: No growth. 



Iron-milk (Spray): No growth. 



Indole production not recorded (probably 

 negative) . 



Glucose and other carbohydrates not 

 fermented. 



Cellulose not fermented. 



Nitrite production not recorded (probably 

 negative). 



Coagulated albumin: No liquefaction. 



Blood serum: No liquefaction. 



Brain medium: No digestion or blacken- 

 ing. 



Anaerobic. 



Optimum temperature, about 35° C. 



Optimum reaction, about pH 7.5; lower 

 limit for growth, pH 6.5. 



Distinctive characters: Requires uric 

 acid or certain other purines as a primary 

 source of carbon and energy. The purines 

 are converted into ammonia, CO 2 , acetic 

 acid and a little glycine. This organism is 

 physiologically similar to Clostridium acidi- 

 urici but may be readily distinguished from 

 the latter by its morphology. 



Source: A single strain was isolated from 

 soil. 



Habitat: Probably soil, although only 

 this single isolation is recorded. 



42. Clos iridium perfringeiis (Veillon 

 and Zuber, 1898) Holland, 1920.* Clostridium 

 perfringens Type A, Spray, 1948. (Bacillus 

 aerogenes cnpsulatus Welch and Nuttall, 

 Johns Hopkins Hosp. Bull. 3, 1892, 81 ; Bacil- 

 lus phlegmones emphysematosae Fraenkel, 

 Ueber Gasphlegmonen, Leipzig, 1893, 47; 

 Bacillus emphysematosus Kruse, in Fliigge, 



Die Mikroorganismen, 3 Aufl., 2, 1896, 242: 

 Bacillus perfringens Veillon and Zuber, 

 Arch. M^d. Exp. et Anat. Path., 10, 1898, 

 539; Holland, Jour. Bact., 5, 1920, 219; Clos- 

 tridium welchii Holland, ibid., 221; Bacillus 

 welchii Type A, Wilsdon, Univ. Cambridge, 

 Inst. Animal Path., 2nd Rept. of Dir., 1931, 

 72; Spray, in Manual, 6th ed., 1948, 789.) 



per. frin 'gens. L. part. adj. perfringens 

 breaking through. 



Short, thick rods, 1.0 to 1.5 by 4.0 to 8.0 

 microns, occurring singly and in pairs, less 

 frequently in short chains. Spores ovoid, 

 central to eccentric, not swelling the cells. 

 Encapsulated. Non-motile. Gram-positive. 



Gelatin: Liquefaction and blackening. 



Agar surface colonies (anaerobic) : Circu- 

 lar, moist, slightly raised, opaque center, 

 entire. 



Egg yolk agar surface colonies: Circular 

 to somewhat irregular, smooth (rough var- 

 iants excepted) , surrounded by a wide zone 

 of opaque precipitate without luster over 

 colony or zone. The reaction is given by all 

 colony types, although there is some varia- 

 tion in the size of the zone of precipitation. 



Broth: Turbid; peptolytic. Clearing with 

 viscid sediment. 



Litmus milk: Acid; coagulated. Clot torn 

 with profuse gas production but not di- 

 gested. 



Potato: Thin, grayish white streak; gas 

 in subtended liquid. 



Indole not produced. 



Acid and gas from glucose, fructose, galac- 

 tose, mannose, maltose, lactose, sucrose, 

 xylose, trehalose, raffinose, starch, glycogen 

 and inositol. Salicin rarely fermented. Man- 

 nitol not fermented. Action on glycerol and 

 inulin variable. 



Nitrites produced from nitrates. 



Atmospheric nitrogen not fixed (Rosen- 

 blum and Wilson, Jour. Bact., 57, 1949, 413). 



Coagulated albumin: No liquefaction. 



Blood serum: No liquefaction. 



Brain medium: No blackening or diges- 

 tion. 



Egg-meat medium: Profuse gas produc- 



* Because of use of the specific epithet perfringens by the Permanent Standards Com- 

 mission of the Health Organization of the League of Nations (Report of the Permanent 

 Commission on Biological Standardization, London, June 23, 1931), the use of this epithet 

 has been continued, although it is antedated by a valid binomial (Bacillus emphysematosus 

 Kruse) . 



