STUDIES ON BACTERIAL NUTRITION : I. GROWTH OF BACILLUS INFLUENZAE IN HEMOGLOBIN-FREE MEDIA.
From the data presented in the foregoing experiments it is evident that Bacillus influenzae will grow in a fluid medium consisting of plain broth to which have been added small amounts of emulsions or extracts of mucoid bacilli or of Bacillus proteus. The bacterial extracts may be made by simple boiling of the bacillary emulsions in broth or saline solution and centrifuging out the bacterial bodies; they may be filtered without losing their growth-inducing property. Cultures of Bacillus influenzae in bacterial extract broth, if not too small doses of the extracts were employed, always showed heavier growth than the control cultures in blood broth, and growth occurred at a considerably earlier period than in blood broth. In many instances growth could be seen after 3 to 4 hours, and a bacterial whirl was always visible after 6 hours incubation. When the nature of the culture used for seeding is not stated, this was 0.1 cc. of the supernatant fluid of a blood broth culture. All cultures were made in fluid medium; solid medium is much more difficult to use in connection with the extracts. In explanation of the remarkable growth of Bacillus influenzae in this blood-free medium, the idea is proposed that the growth-stimulating effect of the bacterial extracts is due possibly to substances of the same nature as the so called vitamines. Further investigations on this principle of bacterial nutrition will appear in subsequent papers, together with a more thorough study of the sources and character of the growth-inducing substances.
Thjötta
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Hospital of The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.