DBSORIPTIVB CHART SOCIETY OP AMERICAN BACTERIOLOGISTS. 



Prepai-ed by F. D. Chester, P. P. Gorham, Erwin P. Smith, Committee on Methods of Identification ot Bacterial Species. 

 Endorsed by the Society for general use at the Annual Meeting, Dec. 31, 1907. 



GLOSSARY OF TERMS. 



AGAR HANGING BLOCK, a small block of nutrient agar 

 cut from a poured plate, and placed on a cover-glass, 

 the surface next the glass having been first touched 

 with a loop from a young fluid culture or with a dilu- 

 tion from the same. It is examined upside down, the 

 same as a hanging drop. 

 AMEBOID, assuming various shapes like an ameba. 

 AMORPHODS, without visible differentiation in structure. 

 ARBORESCENT, a branched, tree-like growth. 

 BEADED, in stab or stroke, disjointed or semi-confluent 



colonies along the line of inoculation. 

 BRIEF, a few days, a week. 



BRITTLE, growth dry, friable under the platinum needle. 

 BDLLATB, growth rising in convex prominences, like a 



blistered surface. 

 BUTYROUS, growth of a butter-like consistency. 

 CHAINS, 



Short chains, composed of 2 to 8 elements. 

 Long chains, composed of more than 8 elements. 

 CILIATB, having fine, hair-lilte extensions like cilia. 

 CLOUDY', said of fluid cultures which do not contain pseudo- 



zoogloeae. 

 COAGULATION, the separation of casein from whey in milk. 

 This may take place quickly or slowly, and as the re- 

 sult either of the formation of an acid or of a lab fer- 

 ment. 

 CONTOURED, an irregular, smoothly undulating surface, 



like that of a relief, map. 

 CONVEX, surface the segment of a circle, but flattened. 

 COPROPHYL, dung bacteria. 

 CORIACEOUS, growth tough, leathery, not yielding to the 



platinum needle. 

 CRATERIFORM, round, depressed, due to the liquefaction 



of the medium. 

 CRETACEOUS, growth opaque and white, chalky. 

 CURLED, composed of parallel chains in wavy strands, as in 



anthrax colonies. 

 DIASTASIC ACTION, same as DIASTATIC, conversion of 



starch into water-soluble substances by diastase. 

 ECHINT;LATE, in agar stroke a growth along line of inocu- 

 lation, with toothed or pointed margins ; in stab cul- 

 tures growth beset with pointed outgrowths. 

 EFFUSE, growth thin, veily, unusually spreading. 

 ENTIRE, smooth, having a margin destitute of teeth or 



notches. 

 EROSE, border irregularly toothed. 

 FILAMENTOUS, growth composed of long, irregularly 



placed or interwoven filaments. 

 FILIFORM, in stroke or stab cultures a uniform growth 



along line of inoculation. 

 FIMBRIATE, border fringed with slender processes, larger 



than filaments. 

 FLOCCOSE, growth composed of short curved chains, va- 

 riously oriented. 

 FLOCCULENT, said of fluids which contain pseudozoogloeae. 

 i. e., small adherent masses of bacteria of various 

 shapes and floating m the culture fluid. 

 FLUORESCENT, having one color by transmitted light and 



another by reflected light. 

 GRAM'S STAIN, a method of differential bleaching after 

 gentian violet, methyl violet, &c. The 4- mark is to 

 be given only when the bacteria are deep blue or re- 

 main blue after counterstaining with Bismark brown. 

 (JRIIMOSE, clotted. 



INFUNDIBULIFORM, form of a funnel or inverted cone. 

 IRIDESCENT, like mother-of-pearl. The effect of very thin 

 films. 

 ■ LACERATE, having the margin cut into irregular segments 

 as if torn. 

 LOBATE, border deeply undulate, producing lobes (see un- 

 dulate). 

 LONG, many weeks or months. 



upper margin of a 

 less closely to the 



MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE, temperature above which 



growth does not take place. 

 MEDIUM, several weeks. 



MEMBRANOUS, growth thin, coherent, like a membrane. 

 MINIMUM TEMPERATURE, temperature below which 



growth does not take place. 

 MYCELIOID, colonies having the radiately filamentous ap- 

 pearance of mold colonies. 

 NAPIFORM, liquefaction with the form of a turnip. 

 NITROGEN REQUIREMENTS, the necessary nitrogenous 

 food. This is determined by adding to nitror/en-free 

 media the nitrogen compound to he tested. 

 .OPALESCENT, resembling the color of an opal. 

 Ol'TIMUM TEMPERATURE, temperature at which growth 



is most rapid. 

 PELLICLE, in fluid bacterial growth either forming a con- 

 tinuous or an interrupted sheet over the fluid. 

 I'BPTONIZBD, said of curds dissolved by trypsin. 

 I'ERSISTBNT, many weeks, or months. 

 I'LUMOSE, a fleecy or feathery growth 



PSEUDOZOOGLOEAE, clumps of bacteria, not dissolving 

 readily in water, arising from imperfect separation, or 

 more or less fusion of the components, but not having 

 the degree of compactness and gelatinization seen in 

 zoogloeae. 

 PULVINATB, in the form of a cushion, decidedly convex. 

 PUNCTIFORM, very minute colonies, at the limit of natural 



vision. 

 RAISED, growth thick, with abrupt or terraced edges. 

 KHIZOID, growth of an irregular branched or root-like 



character, as in B. iinjcoides. 

 RING, Same as RIM, growth at the 

 liquid culture, adhering more 

 glass. 

 REPAND, wrinkled. 

 RAPID, developing in 24 to 48 hours. 

 SACCATE, liquefaction the shape of an elongated sack, 



tubular, cylindrical. 

 SCUM, floating islands of bacteria, an interrupted pellicle or 



bacterial membrane. 

 SLOW, requiring 5 or 6 days or more for development. 

 SHORT, applied to time, a few days, a week. 

 SPORANGIA, cells containing endospores. 

 SPREADING, growth extending much beyond the line of 



inoculation, 1 e., several millimeters or more. 

 STRATIFORM, liquefying to the walls of the tube at the top 



and then proceeding downwards horizontally. 

 THERMAL DEATH-POINT, the degree of heat required to 

 kill the young fluid cultures of an organism exposed for 

 10 minutes (in thin-walled test tubes of a diameter not 

 exceeding 20 mm.) in the thermal water-bath. The 

 water must be kept agitated so that the temperature 

 shall he uniform during the exposure. 

 TRANSIENT, a few days. 

 TURBID, cloudy with flocculent particles ; cloudy plus floc- 



culence. 

 UMBONATB. having a button-like, raised center. 

 UNDUIjATE, border wavy, with shallow sinuses. 

 VERRUCOSE, growth wart-like, with wart-like prominences. 

 VERMIFORM-CONTOURED, growth like a mass of worms, 



or intestinal coils. 

 VILLOUS, growth beset with hair-like extensions. 

 VISCID, growth follows the needle when touched and with- 

 drawn, sediment on shaking rises as a coherent swirl. 

 ZOOGLOEAE, firm gelatinous masses of bacteria, one of the 

 most typical examples of which is the Streptococcus 

 mesenteriohles of sugar vats [Lcuconostoc meseiiter- 

 ioUes), the bacterial chains being surrounded by an 

 enormously thickened flrm covering, inside of \ 

 there may he one or many groups of tjie bacteria. 



vhich 



I . NOTES. 



(1) For decimal system of group numbers see Table 1. 

 This will be found useful as a quick method of showing close 



•relationships inside the genus, but is not a sufficient charac- 

 terization ot any organism. 



(2) The morphological characters shall be determined 

 and described from growths obtained upon at least one solid 

 medium (nutrient agar) and in at least one liquid medium 

 (nutrient broth). Growths at 37° C. shall be in general 

 not older than 24 to 48 hours, and growths at 20° C. not 



older than 48 to 72 hours. To secure uniformity in cultures, 

 in all cases preliminary cultivation shall he practiced as 

 described in tire revised Report of the Committee on Standard 

 Methods of the Laboratory Section of the American I'uhlic 

 Health Association, 1005. 



(3) The observation of cultural and bio-chemical feat- 

 ures shall cover a period of at least 15 days and frequently 

 longer, and shall be made according to the revised Standard 

 Methods above referred to. All media shall be made accord- 

 ing to the same Standard Methods. 



(4) Gelatin stab cultures shall be held for 6 weeks to 

 determine liquefaction. 



(5) Ammonia and indol tests shall be made at end of 

 tenth day, nitrite tests at end of fifth day. 



(6) Titrate with N NaOH, using phenolphthalein as 

 an indicator : make titrations at same times from blank. 

 The difference gives the amount of acid produced. 



The titration should be done after boiling to drive off 

 any COj present in the culture. 



(7) Generic nomenclature shall begin with the year 

 1872 (Cohn's first important paper). 



Species nomenclature shall begin with the year 1880 

 (Koch's discovery ot the poured plate method for the sepa- 

 ration of organisms). 



(S) Chromogensis shall be recorded in standard color 

 terms. 



TABLE I. 



A NUMERICAL SYSTEM OF RECORDING THE SALIENT 



CHARACTERS OF AN ORGANISM. (GROUP NUMBER.) 



100. 

 200. 



10. 



20. 



30. 

 1. 



O.ll 



0.2^ 

 0.3'i 

 0.4 



.01 



.02 



.03 



.04 



.001 



.002 



.003 



.004 



.0001 



.0002 



.0003 



.00001 



.00002 



.00003 



.00004 



.00005 



.00006 



.00007 



.00008 



.00009 



.00000 



.000001 



.000002 



.000003 



.0000001 



.0000002 



.0000003 



.0000004 



Endospores produced 

 Endospores not produced 

 Aerobic (Strict) 

 Facultative anaerobic 

 Anaerobic (Strict) 

 Gelatin liquefied 

 Gelatin not liquefied 

 Acid and gas from dextrose 

 Acid without gas from dextrose 

 No acid from dextrose 

 No growth with dextrose 

 Acid and gas from lactose 

 Acid without gas from lactose 

 No acid from lactose 



No growth with lactose 



Acid and gas from saccharose 



Acid without gas from saccharose 



No acid from saccharose 



No growth with saccharose 



Nitrates reduced with evolution of gas 



Nitrates not reduced 



Nitrates reduced without gas formation 



Fluorescent 



Violet chromogeus 



Blue 



Green " 



Y'ellow " 



Orange " 



Red 



Brown " 



Pink 



Non-chromogenic 



Diastasic action on potato starch, strong 



Diastasic action on potato starch, feeble 



Diastasic action on potato starch, alisent 



Acid and gas from glycerine 



Acid without gas from glycerine 



No acid from glycerine 



No growth with glycerine 



Tlie genus according to the system of Migula is given its 

 proper symbol, which precedes the number thus: (") 



BACILLI'S COLI (Esch.) Mig. becomes B. 222.111102 



Bacillus alcaligenes Petr. " B. 212.333102 



PSEUDOMONAS CAMPESTRis (Pam.) Sm. " Ps. 211.333151 



BACl'EitiUM suiciDA Mlg. " Bact. 222.232203 



