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MANUAL OF DETERMINATIVE BACTERIOLOGY 



only at higher temperatures and under 

 anaerobic conditions. Migula called 

 this Bacillus pseudotetanicus. Ford 

 (Jour. Bact., 1, 1916, 520) stated that this 

 name had priority over Neide's Bacillus 

 sphaericus which he thought was iden- 

 tical. On the other hand, Tavel {loc. 

 cit.) isolated a pseudotetanus bacillus 

 that was apparently anaerobic. Its 

 spores were ellipsoidal and it formed 

 more gas than the tetanus bacillus. 

 Migula named this organism Bacillus 

 pseudoteiani. Subsequentlj- both of 

 Migula's names have been applied to 

 the aerobic organism. Bacillus pseudo- 

 tetanicus and Bacillus pseudotetani are 

 nomina dubia and Bacillus sphaericus 

 should therefore be used. 



Spores : Spherical, 0.7 to 1.3 microns in 

 diameter, terminal to subterminal. 

 Young spores in sporangia may be oval. 

 Spore wall thick ; remnants of sporangium 

 may adhere. 



Sporangia: Definitely swollen, clavate 

 to spindle-shaped. 



Rods: 0.6 to 1.0 by 1.5 to 7.0 microns, 

 occurring singly or in short chains. On 

 glucose agar cells contain few small fat 

 globules. Motile. Gram-variable; often 

 Gram-negative with Gram-positive 

 granules. 



Gelatin stab : Scant growth. No lique- 

 faction. Gelatin hydrolyzed if tested by 

 the Frazier technic. 



Agar colonies : Small, thin, flat, translu- 

 cent, often spreading over the plate. 



Giant agar colonies : If the surface of 

 the agar is fairly dry, many strains exhibit 

 minute colonies that swarm out from the 

 point of inoculation and cover the plate 

 (of. Bacillus alvei and Bacillus circulans) . 



Agar slants: Growth thin, smooth, 

 spreading, translucent, becoming yellow- 

 ish-brown. Growth occurs at pH 6.0. 



Broth : Uniform turbidity. Glucose 

 broth cultures have pH of 8.3 to 8.6 after 

 7 days. 



Milk : No change. 



Milk agar plate: Scant, if any, hydro- 

 lysis of casein. 



Potato : Growth scant, thin, spreading, 

 soft, gray, becoming yellowish-brown 

 with age. 



Nitrites not formed from nitrates. 



Starch not hydrolyzed. 



No acid from carbohydrates. 



Acetylmethylcarbinol not produced. 



Citrates not utilized. 



Urease not formed. 



Salt tolerant. Growth occurs in broth 

 containing 4 per cent NaCl. 



Optimum temperature about 30°C. 

 Maximum temperature allowing growth 

 40°Cto45°C. 



Not pathogenic for guinea pigs. 



Aerobic, facultative. 



Source : From mud of a pond, rotting 

 cypress wood, rotting oak wood, and from 

 soil. 



Habitat : Widely distributed in nature. 



Bacillus rotans Roberts (Jour. Bact., 

 29, 1935, 229) differs from Bacillus 

 sphaericus in that it will not grow as low 

 as pH 6.0 nor in broth containing 4 per 

 cent NaCl. Originally characterized by 

 motile colonies, this phenomenon has 

 been noted with certain other members 

 of the genus and with some strains of 

 Bacillus sphaericus. Smith, Gordon, 

 and Clark {loc. cit.) consider it a variety 

 of Bacillus sphaericus. 



Source : From intestine of a termite. 



Habitat: Probably widespread in soil. 



18a. Bacillus sphaericus var. fusi- 

 formis comb. nov. (Bacillus fusiformis 

 Gottheil, Cent. f. Bakt., II Abt., 7, 1901, 

 724.) From Latin/»SH.s, spindle ;/o?-m2s, 

 shape. 



This organism differs from Bacillus 

 sphaericus only in that it produces urease. 



Source : One strain isolated from Beta 

 vulgaris lutea (beet). Also from milk, 

 dust, soil and contaminated hirudin. 



Habitat : Widely distributed in nature. 



Bacillus loehnisii Gibson (Jour. Bact., 

 29, 1935, 495) is very closely related to the 

 above. It will not grow at pH 6.0 or 

 below, prefers media containing urea, 

 and produces nitrites from nitrates. 

 Gibson (loc. cit., 500) in discussing the 



