- Volume 11, Issue 3, 1961

A study of the morphological, cultural, and biochemical characteristics of 12 strains of different species of the genus Serratia indicates that most strains of species thus far recognized are identical with Serratia marcescens.

The names S. piscatorum (Lehmann and Neumann) Breed, S. Pyoseptica. (Fortineau) Bergey, S. fuschsina (Boeckhout et de Vries) Bergey, S. anolium (Duran - Reynals et Clausen) are to be regarded as synonyms of S. marcescens Bizio and Serratia marinorubra as a synonym of Serratia marcescens kiliensis.

The strains S. saponaria I and II Markov should be removed from the genus Serratia and placed provisionally in the genus Alcaligenes.

For the proper classification of the Mimeae, Moraxella, Dipplococcus mucosus and Neisseria winogradskyi, the serological relationship should be considered. In a serological comparison using strains of Moraxella, N. winogradskyi and D. mucosus against polyvalent Mima polymorpha antiserum, adsorbed polyvalent Herellea antiserum and Bacterium anitratum serotypes 1-10, it was found that one of the five D. mucosus strains was serologically the same as B. anitratum, type 7. The other four strains of D. mucosus and N. winogradskyi were agglutinated by adsorbed polyvalent Herellea antiserum and share partial antigens with certain serotypes of B. anitratum. Henriksen (1952) suggested further study was necessary before Mima polymorpha var. oxidans could be included in the genus Moraxella. In the present study, 57% of the Moraxella strains studied were agglutinated by polyvalent M. polymorpha antiserum and M. polymorpha var. oxidans (pool of 3 sera). The strain of Bacterium lwoffi var. brevis included was agglutinated only by Moraxella lacunata antiserum.

A study of the morphological, cultural and biochemical features of five strains of Serratia kiliensis (Lehmann et Neumann) Bergey from different culture collections leads to the conclusion that Serratia kiliensis is a variety of Serratia marcescens.

The results of a comparison of criteria used in characterization of the Actinomycetes under the auspices of the International Subcommittee are reported. Although this first co-operative work carried out on a large scale showed some deficiencies which were caused by the selection of the media and methods and by the type of description, some interesting evidence concerning the value of the used criteria for the classification of Streptomycetes were obtained.

The morphology of sporophores and the shape of spores are significant and constant characteristics so that they can be used as taxonomically useful criteria.

Likewise, the melanin reaction is an unequivocal characteristic and can be applied in a classification. The determination and description of the colours of the aerial as well as of the vegetative mycelium are much more complicated. In principle these results confirm those obtained from a co-operative experiment which was carried out in the USA a short time before (Gottlieb, 1951). In this study organized by the Subcommittee on Actinomycetes of the Committee on Taxonomy of the Society of American Bacteriologists workers ot 11 different laboratories examined 5 different strains by means of 12 morphological as well as physiological criteria

Further studies are necessary to find the most useful criteria and to improve the methods which are suitable for the classification of Streptomycetes. Further co-operative and comparative work could be the best way to solve these taxnomical problems.

A phage type is defined as a collection of bacterial strains with the same phage relationships. Satisfactory type definitions have been developed for Salmonella typhi. Definition for type definitions for S. paratyphi B are discussed.

A proposal of a system of classification of the pathogenic species of the bacterial genus Leptospira based on the standard strains found in the culture collections of Prof. Wolff in Amsterdam and of the Metschnikoff Institute of Vaccines and Sera in Moscow. For the species L. icterohaemorrhagiae one serogroup and four serotypes are listed with names and for L. febris aquatilis five serogroups and twelve serotypes.

Bacterium anitratum Schaub an Hauber is transferred to the genus Cytophage (Myxobacteriales, Schizomycetes) as Cytophaga anitrata (Schaub and Hauber) comb. nov. The transfer is based upon cellular morphology, the characteristic gliding or creeping motility of the single cells and the absence of microcysts. The nearly related Moraxella lwoffie Audureau is likewise transferred to Cytophaga as Cytophaga lwoffi (Audureau) comb. nov. for the same reasons.