SPORE-FORMING ORGANISM FROM IOWA 



339 



The following experiment was performed to check these observations: 

 A loop of a 48 hour lactose (Andrade) broth culture was inoculated 

 into each of 5 tubes of melted starch agar which were kept in a water 

 bath at 89 to 91C. After 10, 20, 30, 45 and 60 minutes, tubes 

 were removed from the bath, cooled and incubated at 37C. A 

 Gram stain of the broth culture showed it to be a pure culture of 

 long Gram negative rods and no spores were visible. 



Plain and lactose agar culture suspended in broth were also heated 

 as above. The results are given in table 4. 



TABLE 4 

 Resistance of aerobic spore forming lactose fermenting bacilli to heat (89-91C.) 



* Two cultures employed, 14B1 and 8. 



IDENTITY OF ORGANISM 



Meyer in 1919 described a sporing lactose fermenter which he 

 isolated from Newport and Covington, Kentucky water. In many 

 respects his organism is strikingly similar to the one here recorded 

 (e.g., dulcitol is the only carbohydrate not attacked) and we thought 

 that possibly they were the same, but rather important differences 

 have been observed. The Meyer strain was non-motile, gave a 

 positive Voges-Proskauer reaction, liquefied gelatin rapidly, and 

 failed to reduce nitrates. The strain herein described is actively 

 motile, negative for the Voges-Proskauer test, liquefies gelatine 

 slowly and reduces nitrates very vigorously. 



Two cultures have been described in connection with studies on 

 acetone production which may be identical with the organism re- 



