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The Bacterial Production of Acetylmethylcarbinol and 2.3-Butylene 



Glycol from Various Substances. — II. * 

 By Arthur Harden, F.R.S., and Dorothy Norris, Biochemical Department, 

 Lister Institute. 



(Eeceived January 25, — Read February 29, 1912.) 



The action of B. subtilis (Cohn), B. mesentericus vulgatus (Fliigge) 

 (B. vulgatus (Fliigge) Migula), and Tyrothrix tenuis (Duclaux) (B. tenuis 

 {Duclaux) L. and N.) on various substances has been investigated by Pere - (1). 

 This observer, on distilling bis various culture media, obtained laevo-rotatory 

 distillates strongly reducing to Fehling's solution. In all cases he concluded 

 that the volatile substance present was glyceraldehyde, and upon his 

 results based a theory that sugars undergoing bacterial fermentation break 

 down primarily to a triose, that is to say, glycerose. 



He was, however, unable to characterise his compound satisfactorily ; for 

 example, it did not give Schiff's reaction, no osazone was obtainable, and 

 although in some cases he obtained small quantities of lead, calcium, and 

 barium salts of an acid formed by the oxidation of his volatile substance with 

 nitric acid, which he took for salts of glyceric acid, the quantities analysed 

 were so small that no reliance can be placed upon the results. Moreover, 

 none of his salts was obtained in crystalline form. 



Soon after the appearance of Pore's work Wohl (2) succeeded in preparing 

 glyceraldehyde in a pure state, and found that it was non-volatile in 

 steam, that it gave Schiff's reaction, and also formed a highly characteristic 

 osazone, M.P. 131° C. It seemed therefore impossible that the volatile 

 substance obtained by Pere" could have been glyceraldehyde, and a further 

 investigation of the subject has therefore been made. 



In a previous communication (3) the action of B. lactis aerogenes and 

 B. cloacce on many carbohydrates, alcohols, etc., has been described. With 

 glycerol itself the liquid obtained on distilling the culture medium was 

 absolutely without reducing power. In the majority of cases, however, 

 the distillate possessed reducing power which was shown to be due not 

 to the presence of glyceraldehyde, but to that of acetylmethylcarbinol, 

 CH 3 , CH(OH)-CO - CH3, the substance responsible for the Voges and Proskauer 

 reaction (4), which had previously been observed as a product of the 

 bacterial fermentation of glucose by Grimbert (5). The above experiments 

 were carried out under anaerobic conditions, but Walpole (6) has shown that 

 * For first part see paper read February 1, B, vol. 84. p. 492. 



