THE BACTERIAL NATURE OF MITOCHONDRIA 33 



In all these culture experiments the possibility of con- 

 tamination was constantly kept in mind and guarded against. 

 All instruments and vessels that were used were thoroughly 

 sterilized. The fetus or new-born rabbit, after decapitation 

 was saturated with 95 per cent alcohol. The instruments 

 employed in opening the abdomen and removing the liver 

 were always sterilized in the flame immediately before use. 

 The liver was quickly removed to a sterile petri dish, cut 

 into pieces by inserting a sterile scalpel under the lid. 

 Pieces of the liver tissue were then planted in the media by 

 the usual bacteriological technic. 



The "clouded growths" obtained in these experiments 

 appeared to be the more significant, since they developed 

 consistently. It appeared possible, however, that these 

 coccoid bodies of the clouded medium might be the result 

 of some precipitation of a colloidal nature induced by the 

 planted liver tissue. This possibility was further suggested 

 by the failure of all attempts to subculture them. How- 

 ever, the clouded medium was examined with the dark 

 field microscope in the hope of determining if the coccoid 

 bodies exhibited true movement. In a number of such 

 examinations true movement was observed. In some in- 

 stances, the minute bodies were seen to move across the 

 entire microscopic field. These movements were not con- 

 fused with Brownian movement, which was abundantly 

 present in the preparations. These observations strength- 

 ened the idea that the coccoid bodies might be living 

 organisms. 



The experiments completed up to this time, while not 

 conclusive, certainly enhanced the probability of demon- 

 strating the bacterial nature of mitchondria. An analysis 

 of the nature and extent of growth, particularly the deep 

 clouded growth, appeared to indicate that the media were 

 deficient in some essential food material. It was sug- 

 gested by Dr. A. I. Kendall' that possibly the (limited) 



* Personal communication. 



