DESCRIPTIVE CHART— SOCIETY OF AMERICAN BACTERIOLOGISTS 



Prepared by F. D, Chester, F. P. Gorham, Erwin F. Smith, Committee on Methods of Identification of 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 dilution from the same. It is examined 

 upside down, the same as a hanging drop. 



AMEBOID, assuming various shapes like an ameba. 



AMORPHOUS, without visible differentiation in structure. 



ARBORESCENT, a branched, tree-like growth. 



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

 along the line of inoculation. 



BRIEF, a few days, a week. 



BRITTLE, growth dry, friable under the platinum needle. 



BULLATE, growth rising in convex prominences, like a blistered 

 surface. 



BUTRYOUS, growth of a butter-Uke consistency. 



CHAINS, 



Short chains, composed of 2 to 8 elements. 

 Long chains, composed of more than 8 elements. 



CILIATE, having fine, hair-like extensions like cilia. 



CLOUDY, said of fluid cultures which do not contain pseudozoogloeae. 



COAGULATION, the separation of casein from whey in milk. This 



may take place quickly or slowly, and as the result either of the 



formation of an acid or of a lab ferment. 

 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. 

 ECHINULATE, in agar stroke a growth along line of inoculation, 



with toothed or pointed margins; in stab-cultures 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, variously 



oriented. 

 FLOCCULENT, said of fluids which contain pseudozoogloeae, i.e., 



small adherent masses of bacteria of various shapes and floating 



in 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, etc. The -|- mark is to be given only 



when the bacteria are deep blue or remain blue after counter- 

 staining with Bismark brown. 

 GRUMOSE, 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 undulate). 



LONG, many weeks, or months. 



MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE, temperature above which growth 

 does not take place. 



MEDIUM, several weeks. i • - .. 



MEMBRANOUS, growth thin, coherent, like a membrane. 



MINIMUM TEMPERATURE, temperature below which growth 

 does not take place. 



MYCELIOID, colonies having the radiately filamentous appear- 

 ance of mold colonies. 



NAPIFORM, liquefaction with the form cxf a turnip. 



NITROGEN REQUIREMENTS, the necessary nitrogenous food. 

 This is determined by adding to nitrogen-free media the nitrogen 

 compound to be tested. 



OPALESCENT, resembling the color of au opal. 



OPTIMUM TEMPERATURE, temperature at which growth is 

 most rapid. 



PELLICLE, in fiuid bacterial growth either forming a continuous 

 or an interrupted sheet over the fliiid. 



PEPTONIZED, said of curds dissolved by trypsin. 



PERSISTENT, many weeks, or months. ^ ■ 



PLUMOSE, 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 iiaving the degree of com- 

 pactness and gelatinization seen in zoogloeae. 



PULVINATE, 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. 



RHIZOID, growth of an irregular branched or root-like character, 

 as in B. mycotdes. 



RING, Same as RIM, growth at the upper margin of a liquid culture, 

 adhering more or less closely to the 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, 

 i.e., several millimeters or more. 



STARTIFORM, liquefying to the walls of the tube at the top and 

 then proceeding downward horizontally. 



THERMAL DEATH-POINT, the degree of heat required to kill 

 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 be uniform during the exposure. 



TRANSIENT, a few days. 



TURBID, cloudy with flocculent particles; cloudy plus flocculence. 



UMBONATE, having a button-Hke, raised center. 



UNDULATE, border wavy, with shallow sinuses. 



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



VERMIFORM-CONTOURED, growth hke a mass of worms, or in- 

 testinal coils. 



VILLOUS, growth beset with hair-like extensions. 



VISCID, growth follows the needle when touched and withdrawn, 

 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 mesenterioides 

 of sugar vats (Leuconostoc mesenterioides) the bacterial chains 

 being surrounded by an enormously thickened firm covering 

 inside of which there may be one or many groups of the bacteria. 



NOTES 



(i) For decimal system of group numbers see Table i. This will 

 be found useful as a quick method of showing close relationships inside 

 the genus, but is not a sufficient characterization of 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 be practised as described in the 

 the revised Report of the Committee on Standard Methods of the 

 Laboratory Section of the American Pubhc Health Association, 1905- 



(3) The observation of cultural and bio-chemical features 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 according 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 loth day, 

 nitrite tests at end of 5th day. 



N 



(6) Titrate with — NaOH, using phenolphthalein as an indicator: 



make tirations at same times from blank. The difference gives the 

 amount of acid produced. 



The titation should be done after boiling to drive off any CO2 

 present in the culture. 



(7) Generic nomenclature shall begin wtih the year 1872. (Cohn's 

 first important paper.) 



Species nomenclature shall begin with the year 1880, (Koch's dis- 

 coverj' of the poured plate method for the separation of organisms.) 



(8) Chromogensis shall be recorded in standard color terms. 



TABLE I. 



A NUMERICAL SYSTEM OF RECORDING THE SALIENT 

 CHARACTERS OF AN ORGANISM. (GROUP NUMBER) 

 100. o Endospores produced 



200.0 Endospores not produced 



10. o Aerobic (Strict) 



20 . Facultative anaerobic 



30.0 Anaerobic (Strict) 



1 . Gelatin liquefied 



2.0 Gelatin not liquefied 



. 1 Acid and gas from dextrose 



. 2 Acid without gas from dextrose 



0.3 No acid from dextrose 



0.4 No growth with dextrose 



o.or Acid and gas from lactose 



0.02 Acid without gas from lactose 



o . 03 No acid from lactose 



. 04 No growth with lactose 



o .001 Acid and gas from saccharose 



o . 002 Acid without gas from saccharose 



o . 003 No acid from saccharose 



o .004 No growth with saccharose 



0.000 1 Nitrate reduced with evolution of gas 



0.0002 Nitrates not reduced 



o . 0003 Nitrates reduced without gas formation 



. 0000 1 Fluorescent 



0.00002 Violet chromogens 



0.00003 Blue chromogens 



0.00004 Green chromogens 



o . 00005 Yellow chromogens ■ ■ 



0.00006 Orange chromogens 



0.00007 Red chromogens 



0.00008 Brown chromogens 



o . 00009 Pink chromogens 



0.00000 Non-chromogenic 



o.oooooi Diastasic action on potato starch, strong 



0.000002 Diastasic action on potato starch, feeble 



0.000003 Diastasic action on potato starch, absent 



o.ooooooi Acid and gas from glycerine 



o . 0000002 Acid without gas from glycerine 



0.0000003 No acid from glycerine^ 



0.0000004 No growth with glycerine 

 The genus according to the system of Migula is given its proper 

 symbol which precedes the number thus; (') 



Bacillus coli (Esch.) Mig. becomes B. 222.111102 



Bacillus alcaligenes Petr. becomes B. 212.333102 



PsEUDOMONAS cAMPESTRis (Pam.) Sm. becomes Ps. 211.333151 

 Bacterium suicida Mig. becomes Bact. 222 . 232203 



