FAMILY PARVOBACTERIACEAE 



595 



Strict parasites. Growth occurs only under anaerobic conditions in media containing 

 fresh, sterile tissue or ascitic fluid. 

 The type species is Dialister ■pneumosintes (Olitsky and Gates) Bergey et al. 



1. Dialister pneumosintes (Olitsky 

 and Gates) Bergey et al. {Bacterium 

 pneumosintes Olitsky and Gates, Jour. 

 Exp. Med., 33, 1921, 713; ibid., 35, 1922, 

 813; Bergey et al., Manual, 1st ed., 1923, 

 271; Bacillus pneumosintes Ford, Textb. 

 of Bact., 1927, 634.) From Greek pneu- 

 mon, lung and sintor, murderer or 

 devastator. 



\evy short rods : 0.15 to 0.3 (in glucose 

 broth 0.5 to 1.0) micron in length, occur- 

 ring singly and occasionally in pairs, 

 short chains or masses. The ends are 

 rather pointed. Xon -motile. Gram- 

 negative. 



Blood agar colonies : Small, clear, circu- 

 lar, entire, translucent. 



Growth occurs in media containing 

 fresh sterile rabbit kidney and ascitic 

 fluid. Under strict anaerobic conditions 

 good growth on rabbit blood glucose agar 

 plates. 



Glucose broth in which Escherichia 

 coli or Bacillus viesentericus (non-spore 

 stage) has grown favors growth. 



Acid but no gas from glucose. Neither 

 acid nor gas from maltose, lactose, 

 sucrose, inulin or mannitol. 



Passes Berkefeld Vand N filters. 



Optimum pH 7.4 to 7.8. No growth 

 at pH 7.0 or pH 8.0. 



Optimum temperature 37 °C. Does 

 not survive 56 °C for half an hour. 



Pathogenic for rabbits and guinea pigs. 



Strict anaerobe. 



Source : From filteretl nasopharyngeal 

 secretions from influenza patients in the 

 early hours of the disease. 



Habitat : Nasopharyngeal washings of 

 man. 



2. Dialister granuliformans (Pavlovic) 

 Bergey et al. {Bacterium granulifor- 

 mans Pavlovic, Cent. f. Bakt., I Abt., 

 Orig., 112, 1929, 432; Bergey et al., Man- 

 ual, 4th ed., 1934, 341.) From Latin, 

 forming granules. 



Small rods: Non-motile. Gram-nega- 

 tive. 



Agar colonies : Very small, transparent. 

 No gas. 



Broth: Turbid. 



Litmus milk: Unchanged. 



Indole not formed. 



Acid from glucose, sucrose and man- 

 nitol. 



Passes through Chamberland Lo filters. 



Pathogenic for rabbits. 



Optimum temperature 37°C. 



Anaerobic to microaerophilic. 



Source : From respiratory tract in 

 influenza. 



Habitat : Mucous membrane of respira- 

 tory tract. 



Appendix, Family Parvobacteriaceae:* 



De Bord (Iowa State Coll. Jour. Sci., 

 16, 1942, 471) describes a new tribe, 

 Mimeae, which may belong in this fam- 

 ily. The tribe includes three genera : 

 Mima with the species Mima polymorpha 

 and the variety Mima polymorpha var. 

 oxidans; Herellea with the single species 

 Herellea vaginicola; and Colloides with 

 the single species Colloides anoxydana. 

 The organisms are Gram-negative, pleo- 

 morphic, motile or non-motile rods, 

 often showing bipolar staining, and were 

 isolated from the normal vagina and from 

 cases of vaginitis and conjunctivitis. 

 Deacon (Jour. Bact., ^9, 1945, 511) classi- 

 fies nineteen cultures in these genera. 



* Arranged by Dr. A. Parker Hitchens, University of Pennsjdvania, Philadelphia, 

 Pa., March, 1946. 



