16 L. A. JULIANELLE 



CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM 



In view of the diagnostic importance of the fermentative reaction of the 

 colon-typhoid group, it was deemed advisable to devote considerable attention 

 to this subject. Very little previous work has been done on the ability of the 

 staphylococci to ferment carbohydrate mediums. Of course, it is common 

 knowledge that they attack the more familiar sugars with the production of 

 acid, but no gas. Gordon, 30 in reporting a classification study of the white 

 cocci, gave the fermentation reactions on lactose, maltose, glycerol and man- 

 nitol. Dudgeon 31 reported a comparative study of the aureus and albus cocci, 

 studying among other things their acid production in 11 carbohydrate mediums; 

 but none of his results were quantitative. Winslow and Winslow 2S studied 

 glucose and lactose, and Kligler 32 glucose, lactose and sucrose. More recently 

 Winslow and his co-workers M made a quantitative study of the acid produced 

 in 9 different sugars. They found more than half the strains studied fermented 

 glucose, maltose and sucrose ; about half fermented lactose ; 5 strains fermented 

 salicin, 1 strain each fermented inulin and raffinose, and no strains fermented 

 dulcitol and mannitol. 



In our study, we have employed 17 carbohydrates in all-dextrose, 

 galactose, levulose, sucrose, lactose, maltose, raffinose, arabinose, inulin, 

 dextrin, salicin, adonitol, mannitol, sorbitol, dulcitol, glycerol and starch. 

 Twenty- four hour cultures were inoculated into 1% peptone broth plus 

 1% of the carbohydrate designated. The cultures were incubated at 

 37 C. for one week, and the P H value determined by matching the 

 tubes against the Clark and Lubs 6 standards. In table 7 the P H values 

 alone are given, since gas was not formed in any case. 



The table shows that the carbohydrates are either fermented or not ; 

 but in either case the reaction is uniform. There are slight differences 

 in some of the mediums, but they are not important enough for 

 classification ; they indicate merely functional differences and as such 

 are negligible. 



To compress the table : 



Carbohydrates Fermented Not Fermented 



Glucose Starch 



Galactose Dulcitol 



Levulose Adonitol 



Sucrose Dextrin 



Lactose Inulin 



Maltose Arabinose 



Salicin Raffinose 

 Mannitol 

 Sorbitol ' 

 Glycerol 



30 Quoted by Winslow and Winslow. Supplement to the 34th annual report of local 

 gov't. bd. containing the report of the Med. officer for 1904-1905, p. 387. 

 81 Jour. Path. & Bacteriol., 1908, 12, p. 242. 

 32 Jour. Infect. Dis., 1913, 12, p. 432. 

 38 Winslow, Rothberg and Parsons: Jour. Bacteriol., 1920, 5, p. 145. 



