724 



MANUAL OF DETERMINATIVE BACTERIOLOGY 



Sporangia: Swollen, spindle-shaped to 

 clavate. 



Rods: 0.5 to 0.8 by 2 to 5.0 microns. 

 Cells frequently lie parallel, side by side, 

 like cartridges in a clip. Usually non- 

 capsulated and very motile. Few small 

 fat globules in cells from glucose agar. 

 Gram-variable (young cells Gram-posi- 

 tive, becoming Gram-negative). 



Gelatin stab: Slow liquefaction. 



Agar colonies : Thin, translucent, 

 smooth, quickly spreading as a thin layer 

 over entire plate. The growth thickens 

 with age. Rough and mucoid strains do 

 not spread. 



Giant agar colonies : If the surfaces of 

 agar plates are dried before inoculation 

 with the motile strains, instead of spread- 

 ing as a thin layer, minute bullet-shaped 

 colonies proceed out from the edge of the 

 colony and move across the sterile agar. 

 Non-motile and sometimes motile cells 

 are left behind along the path made by 

 the motile colony (Smith and Clark, 

 Jour. Bact., S5, 1938, 59). Eventually 

 the whole plate is covered. 



Agar slant : Growth thin, inconspicu- 

 ous, spreading, becoming thicker. Rough 

 and mucoid strains do not spread, growth 

 is heaped, and sometimes gummy. 



Broth: Uniform turbidity. Rough 

 strains may form a pellicle. Glucose 

 broth cultures have a pH of 5.0 to 6.0. 



Milk: Usually coagulated, little or no 

 .acid, peptonized. 



Milk agar plate: Casein hydrolyzed. 



Potato : Growth scant to moderate, soft, 

 spreading, usually creamy yellow. 



Nitrites not produced from nitrates. 



Starch is hydrolyzed. 



Acid (with ammoniacal nitrogen) from 

 glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, 

 maltose, de.Ktrin and glycerol. Reaction 

 variable on mannose, lactose, rafhnose, 

 salicin, and mannitol. No acid from 

 arabinose, rhamnose, xylose, and inulin. 



Acetylmethylcarbinol is produced. 



Citrates not utilized. 



Optimum temperature about 30°C. 



Maximum temperature allowing growth 

 43°C to 45°C. 



Putrefactive odor on media rich in 

 proteins (egg). 



Aerobic. 



Source : Isolated from diseased brood of 

 bees. 



Habitat : Associated with European 

 foulbrood of honey bees; widely distrib- 

 uted in soil. 



Note: The following must be con- 

 sidered in connection with Bacillus alvei: 



Bacilhis phiion White. (U. S. Dept. 

 of Agric, Bur. Entomol., Circ. 157, 1912; 

 Diplococcus pluion Bergey et al.. Manual, 

 2nd ed., 1925, 45.) 



See also Lochhead, Science, 67, 1928, 

 159 andProc. IV Intern. Congr. Entomol., 

 2, 1929, 1005; Burnside, Jour. Econ. 

 Entomol., 27, 1934, 656; Tarr, Ann. Appl. 

 Biol., 24, 1935, 614; Burri, Beihefte z. 

 schweiz. Beinenz., 1, Heft 1, 1941. 



White considered Bacillus pluton to be 

 the cause of European foulbrood though 

 the evidence was indirect since the organ- 

 ism was not cultivated. Lochhead sug- 

 gested that Bacillus pluton and Strepto- 

 coccus apis are variants or stages in the 

 life history of Bacillus alvei, a hypothesis 

 supported by Burnside who included, in 

 addition. Bacterium eurydice. Accord- 

 ing to Burri, rod forms identical with 

 Bacterium eurydice give rise to Bacillus 

 pluton which is not directly cultivable. 

 Tarr considers European foulbrood to be 

 caused by Bacillus pluton, distinct from 

 Bacillus alvei, and considers it a strict 

 parasite able to multiply only in the 

 intestines of young larvae. 



Source : Larvae of the honey bee in- 

 fected with European foulbrood. 



13. Bacillus laterosporus Laubach. 

 (Jour. Bact., 1, 1916, 511.) From Latin 

 latus, latcris, the side; Greek sporus, 

 seed; M.L., spore. 



Synonym: Bacillus orpheus White. 

 (U. S. Dept. of Agric, Bur. Entomol., 

 Circ. 157, 1912, 3.) Although named by 

 White, the organism was not described 



