248 



MANUAL OF DETERMINATIVE BACTERIOLOGY 



Hamm, Die puerperale Wundinfektion, 

 Berlin, 1912; not Staphylococcus anaero- 

 bius Heurlin, Bakt. Unters. d. Keimge- 

 haltes im Genitalkanale d. fiebernden 

 Wochnerinnen, Helsingfors, 1910, 120.) 

 From Greek, living without air. 



Description according to Pr^vot, Ann. 

 Sci. Nat., S^r. Bot., 15, 1933, 209. 



Small spheres: 0.5 to 0.6 micron, 

 occurring in masses. Gram-positive. 



Gelatin: No liquefaction. 



Deep agar colonies: Lenticular, thick. 

 No gas produced. 



Broth: Turbid, later clearing. Sedi- 

 ment. 



Glucose broth: Good growth. Nei- 

 ther acid nor gas produced. 



Peptone water: No turbidity. No 

 gas. Indole not produced. 



Milk: Neither coagulated nor acidified. 



Coagulated serum not attacked. 



Egg white not attacked. 



Carbohydrates not attacked by the 

 strains of Jungano. Acid feebly pro- 

 duced from glucose and galactose by 

 Prevot's strain. 



Does not plasmolyse. 



Temperature relations: Optimum 36° 

 to 38°C. At 22°C growth slow, poor. 

 No growth below 22°C. Killed in ten 

 minutes at 80°C or in half an hour at 

 60°C. 



Optimum pH 6.0 to 8.0. 



Pathogenic for guinea-pigs and 

 rabbits. 



Strict anaerobe. 



Distinctive characters: Neutral red 

 broth remains unchanged. No gas 

 produced. 



Source: First isolated by Jungano 

 from a case of cystitis . Found by Pr^vot 

 in the pus from a suppurated tonsil. 



Habitat: Urinary tract, urethra, in- 

 testine, buccal cavity and conjunctiva. 



Appendix I*: The following genus is organized ona physiological basis. Because of 

 this no attempt is made to fit it into the classification outline. A single specieshas 

 been described. 



Genus A. Methanococcus Kluyver and van Niel. 

 (Cent. f. Bakt., II Abt., 94, 1936, 400.) 

 Spherical cells, occurring singly or in masses. Motility not observed. No endo- 

 spores formed. Gram-variable. Chemo-heterotrophic, anaerobic, fermenting vari- 

 ous organic compounds with the formation of methane. Saprophytes. 

 The type species is Methanococcus mazei Barker. 



1. Methanococcus mazei Barker. 

 (Pseudosarcina, Maze, Compt. rend. 

 Soc. Biol., Paris, 78, 1915, 398; Barker, 

 Arch, f . Mikrobiol., 7, 1936, 430.) Named 

 for Maze, the French bacteriologist who 

 first gave a clearly recognizable descrip- 

 tion of this type of methane organism. 



Small spherical cells, occurring singly, 

 in large, irregular masses, or in regular 

 cysts of various sizes and forms. Non- 

 motile. Stains readily with erythrosine. 

 Gram-variable. 



Grows on calcium acetate enrichment 

 media and ferments the acetate vigor- 

 ously. 



Grows slowly on agar containing 2 per 

 cent clear mud extract. 



Ferments acetic and butyric acids with 

 production of methane in the presence of 

 CO2. Ethyl and butyl alcohols not 

 attacked. 



Does not utilize organic nitrogen. 



Obligate anaerobe. 



Grows best at 30° to 37°C. 



Sources: Garden soil, black mud con- 

 taining HoS, feces of herbivorous ani- 

 mals. 



Habitat : One of the most active meth- 

 ane-producing organisms found in nature. 



* Appendixes T and II prepared by 

 Experiment Station. Geneva, New York 



Prof. Robert S. Breed, New York State 

 December, 1943. 



