[Chemotaxonomy of gram-positive bacteria metabolizing beta-caryophyllene]. / Chimiotaxonomie de bactéries à gram positif métabolisant le beta-caryophyllène.

Chemotaxonomic identification of coryneform bacteria metabolizing b-caryophyllene was attempted. The following phospholipids were identified as main components of the bacterial extracts: cardiolipids, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol and mannosides of phosphatidylinositol. Saponification of the lipid extracts gave a mixture of hydroxylated and nonhydroxylated fatty acids. Among the latter, oleic and tuberculostearic acids were identified. The hydroxylated fatty acids were analysed by thin-layer chromatography and mass spectrometry (as methyl esters). From the results thus obtained, the strains appeared to be more closely related to the genus Rhodococcus than to the genus Nocardia.

[Isolation, morphological and biochemical characteristics of gram-positive bacteria metabolizing beta-caryophyllene]. / Isolement, caractères morphologiques et biochimiques de bactéries à gram positif métabolisant le beta-caryophyllène.

Eleven strains of coryneform bacteria were isolated from soil samples by enrichment culture in a mineral medium containing beta-caryophyllene as the sole energy and carbon source. Ten of them could also metabolize longifolene. Numerical taxonomy, based on the use of 147 characteristics, revealed a large diversity. The DNA G + C content was found to be in the range of 62.5-68.3 mol%. Three strains were placed in "The National Collection of Industrial and Marine Bacteria".

[Use of acetamide by Bacillus gordonae. I. Isolation and characterization of mutants able to use this compound as a source of carbon and energy]. / Utilisation de l'acétamide par Bacillus gordonae. I. Isolement et caractères de mutants aptes à utiliser ce composé comme source de carbone et d'énergie.

All known strains of Bacillus gordonae can acquire, by spontaneous mutation, the ability to grow at the expense of acetamide as a source of carbon, nitrogen and energy. The isolation and characters of these mutants are described. Their frequency is high (10(-3)-10(-2) per cell).

[Use of acetamide by Bacillus gordonae. II. Research on acetamidase and the taxonomic value of spontaneous mutation permitting the acquisition of this enzyme]. / Utilisation de l'acétamide par Bacillus gordonae. II. Recherche de l'acétamidase et valeur taxonomique de la mutation spontanée permettant l'acquisition de cette enzyme.

The wild strain Q1 had no acetamidase. The mutant Q1Ac synthesized an inducible acetamidase which was catabolite repressible by glucose. The mutation described is a character that has a high taxonomic value. It constitutes a new example of acquisitive evolution.

[Isolation of a large aerobic sporulated sheathed bacteria from soil by elective culture]. / Isolement d'une bactérie de grandes dimensions, aérobie, sporulée, engainée, par culture élective à partir du sol.

Eleven endospore-forming strains of a probably unknown species of Bacillus were isolated from samples of pasteurized soil by aerobic enrichment culture at 32 degrees C in a minimal medium containing benzoate, p-hydroxybenzoate or cyclohexane carboxylate, as source of carbon and energy. They grew in the form of unbranched, flexible filaments 1.8 micrograms in diameter and sometimes more than 1,000 micrograms in length. The organism was not coenocytic because transverse partitions were visible. The endospores were oval (1.8 x 2.2 micrograms) and did not deform the filaments. A thin, translucid sheath was present. The 11 strains were prototrophic, used benzoate and acetate as sources of carbon and energy but did not grow in common peptone media. Only the isolation technique has been described here.

[Description of the type strain of Bacillus badius]. / Description de la souche type de Bacillus badius.

The type strain of Bacillus badius (ATCC 14574) was studied in detail. Out of a total of 201 sources of carbon and energy tested, only 19 were used. These included mainly organic and amino acids. No carbohydrates were used. The G+C content of its DNA was 47.5 mol %. The species B. badius therefore deserves to be included in approved lists of bacterial names.

[Morphology and cytology of Bacillus benzoevorans, a new filamentous, sheathed mesophilic species, degrading various aromatic acids and phenols]. / Morphologie et cytologie de Bacillus benzoevorans, une nouvelle espèce filamenteuse, engainée et mésophile, dégradant divers acides aromatiques et phénols.

When cultivated on solid medium or in stationary liquid medium, most of the 11 studied strains of Bacillus benzoevorans grew as unbranched, flexible, immotile filaments (or trichomes) of undefined length and 1.8 micrometer diameter. They were enclosed in a sheath giving an overall diameter of 3.6 micrometer. When cultivated in vigorously shaken liquid medium, several strains grew as separate rods (1.8 X 2.2 micrometer), did not deform the filament and contained dipicolinic acid. The cytoplasm had a granular aspect due to the presence of poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid. The Gram reaction was variable but the Gram type was positive. Isolated and purified sheath contained 73% proteins, 12.9% reducing sugars and 8% lipids. In stationary liquid medium, the culture had a mycelial aspect and a thick pellicle formed at the surface. Colonies were circular, flat, opaque, whitish, mat and compact; they had irregular edges, spread out on the surface and did not adhere to the agar.

[Taxonomy of Bacillus circulans]. / Taxonomie de Bacillus circulans.

Four strains of Bacillus circulans sensu stricto (ATCC 4513 (type strain), 4515, 4516, and 4530) were subjected to 236 morphological, biochemical and physiological tests, including 162 carbon source utilization tests. B. circulans s. s. is a species of facultative anaerobes able to ferment carbohydrates. Many carbohydrates and a few aliphatic acids were used as sole carbon and energy sources, but amino acids were not. The guanine-plus-cytosine content of DNA (four strains studied) was 37.2 +/- 0.4 mol% (mean +/- standard deviation).

[Biochemical characterization of Bacillus benzoevorans sp. nov., a new filamentous, sheathed mesophilic species, degrading various aromatic acids and phenols]. / Caractérisation biochimique de Bacillus benzoevorans sp. nov., une nouvelle espèce filamenteuse, engainée et mésophile, dégradant divers acides aromatiques et phénols.

The eleven strains studied were prototrophic and did not grow in media containing only 1% Bacto-peptone or Bacto-tryptone; they grew rapidly in media containing 0.4% yeast extract and 0.2% sodium acetate or benzoate. The maximal growth temperature ranged from 39 to 45 degrees C. Six aliphatic acids, four aromatic acids and five phenols were used as sole carbon and energy sources by the 11 strains. Carbohydrates and amino acids (except for glycine) were not used as carbon and energy sources. Nitrate (but not nitrite) was used anaerobically as a respiratory electron acceptor. Nitrous oxide was used and reduced to N2 by only 3 strains. The mean guanine-plus-cytosine content of the DNA was 41.3 +/- 1.1 mol %. Morphologically and nutritionally, the bacteria described are clearly different from the 5 known species of the first morphological group whose cells have a diameter greater than 1 micrometer: Bacillus megaterium, B. cereus, B. cereus var. mycoides, B. macroides, B. badius, and B. fastidiosus. Strain B1 (=CCM 3364) is the holotype of Bacillus benzoevorans sp. nov.

[Bacillus gordonae sp. nov., a new species belonging to the second morphological group, degrading various aromatic compounds]. / Bacillus gordonae sp. nov., une nouvelle espèce appartenant au second groupe morphologique, dégradant divers composés aromatiques.

Thirty strains were isolated from pasteurized soil samples by enrichment culture in aerobiosis at 32 degrees C in a minimal medium containing one of the following compounds as sole source of carbon and energy: quinate, p-hydroxybenzoate, phthalate, isophthalate or trimellitate. These bacteria were rods (0.8 X 2-7 micron), motile by peritrichous flagella. Endospores were oval (1.4-1.8 X 2 micron) and distinctly swelled the sporangia. The Gram reaction was variable but the Gram type was positive. Colonies were smaller on peptone (0.4%) agar than on minimal salts-glucose (0.2%) agar. The following characters were always present: growth in the presence of lysozyme, cytochrome c oxidase, catalase, nitrate assimilation, urease, amylase and L-glutamate dehydrogenase. The cells contained glycogen. In anaerobiosis, glucose was not fermented and nitrate was not used as a respiratory acceptor of electrons. Of 215 substrates tested, 31 (including 9 aromatic compounds) were used as sole carbon and energy sources by all 30 strains, and 38 substrates (including 13 aromatic compounds) were used by only some of them; 146 substrates (including 49 aromatic compounds) were not used by any of the 30 strains. No amino acid could be used as sole carbon and energy source. Numerical analysis of the 30 strains showed an aggregate cluster made of 5 phena. The mean G + C content of the DNA was 55 +/- 0.6 mol %. The described bacteria are clearly different from the 2 known species of the second morphological group which cannot ferment carbohydrates: Bacillus brevis and B. azotoformans. Strain Q1 (ATCC 29948) is the holotype of Bacillus gordonae sp. nov.

[Composition of the complex lipids of Flavobacterium meningosepticum]. / Composition des lipides complexes de Flavobacterium meningosepticum.

The free lipids of Flavobacterium meningosepticum were separated by thin layer chromatography, and the main lipid fractions were analysed by FAB (fast atom bombardment) mass spectrometry. The major products were di-iso-C15- and iso-C15-iso-C17-phosphatidylethanolamine, and two ninhydrin + and phosphorus- fractions. The structures of the latter two fractions were established as ornithine lipids by using MIKE (mass ions kinetic energy) mass spectrometry, GC/MS (gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry) and conventional methods. The presence of small amounts of sphingolipids with C17- and C16-sphinganines was demonstrated. F. meningosepticum can be distinguished from F. multivorum and F. spiritivorum by easy characterization of the ornithine lipids by thin layer chromatography.

[Carbon assimilation and taxonomic study of Bacillus subtillis and B. licheniformis]. / Nutrition carbonée et étude taxonomique de Bacillus subtilis et B. licheniformis.

All 14 strains of B. subtilis can use the following 17 sources of carbon and energy: D-glucose, D-mannose, D-glucosamine, salicin, D-ribose, maltose, sucrose, cellobiose, trehalose, arbutin, starch, mannitol, glycerol, glycerate, pyruvate, fumarate, and L-proline. All 15 strains of B. licheniformis can use the following 41 sources of carbon and energy: D-glucose, D-galactose, D-mannose, D-fructose, D-glucosamine, alpha-methyl-D-glucoside, beta-methyl-D-glucoside, salicin, D-gluconate, saccharate, D-xylose, L-arabinose, L-rhamnose, D-ribose, maltose, sucrose, cellobiose, melibiose, trehalose, arbutin, raffinose, starch, inulin, mannitol, D-sorbitol, glycerol, glycerate, citrate, L-malate, D-malate, mucate, pyruvate, fumarate, alpha-L-alanine, alpha-D-alanine, asparagine, L-glutamate, L-arginine, DL-ornithine, L-proline, and 4-amino-n-butyrate. The 29 strains form two distinct groups. Group A includes the 15 strains of B. licheniformis and 2 strains of B. subtilis; group B is formed of 11 strains of B. subtilis; the remaining strain of B. subtilis belongs to neither group. Bacillus licheniformis is a more homogeneous species than B. subtilis. The percentage of guanine + cytosine in the DNA of all 29 strains was determined. In the 14 strains of B. subtilis the average is 46.3% +/- 1.5. In the 15 strains of B. licheniformis the average is 46.4% +/- 0.9.

[Denitrification by Bacillus licheniformis]. / La dénitrification chez Bacillus licheniformis.

The denitrifying capacity of 15 strains of Bacillus licheniformis was evaluated. In general, N2 production by the cultures on complex media containing NO3- is irregular and quite slow and three of the strains never produce gas. Bacillus licheniformis grows rapidly in anaerobiosis on peptone medium containing NO3- which is reduced to NO2-. None of the strains grow in peptone medium with NO2- or N2O as the respiratory substrate, nor do they grow under an atmosphere of 10% NO-90% N2. Denitrification was studied in cell suspensions using gas chromatography. N2O production from NO3- or NO2- is always weak at best; nitric oxide is reduced to N2O at an appreciable rate. All the strains synthesize nitrate reductase A in anaerobiosis when NO3- is present. In cell extracts, nitrite reductase activity is always negligible or nil with tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine as an electron donor.

[Study of 14 denitrifying soil bacteria of the "pseudomonas stutzeri" group isolated by enrichment culture in the presence of nitrous oxide (author's transl)]. / Etude de 14 bactéries dénitrifiantes appartenant au groupe Pseudomonas stutzeri isolées du sol par culture d'enrichissement en présence d'oxyde nitreux

The strains were isolated from soil by enrichment in a liquid minimal medium containing ethanol, acetate, succinate, L-malate or tartrate, under an N2O atmosphere at 32 degrees C. All fourteen strains can use the following 25 sources of carbon and energy under aerobic conditions: glycerate, ethanol, propanol, acetate, butyrate, malonate, succinate, glutarate, sebacate, glycollate, L-lactate, D-lactate, L-malate, DL-3-hydroxybutyrate, pyruvate, fumarate, itaconate, mesaconate, crotonate, L-alpha-alanine, D-alpha-alanine, L-leucine, asparagine, L-tyrosine, and L-proline. They hydrolyze Tween 80 but not gelatin. Nitrate is used as nitrogen source. Nitrate reductase A and respiratory nitrite reductase are present. Four of the strains are clearly and easily distinguishable from the others on the basis of six characters: special morphology of colonies; in ability to use isovalerate and DL-valine, inability to use glucose, absence of exocellular amylase, and high level of metapyrocatechase. Their G + C content is 66-67%. One of the strains is distinct from the others by the yellow pigmentation of its colonies, its ability to use D-glucuronate, trehalose, D-sorbitol and citraconate, ability to grow at 4 degrees but not at 40 degrees, and a lower G + C content: 63%. One strain accumulates poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate. This work confirms the well-known, wide variability of the bacteria belonging to the P. stutzeri group. Denitrification by two of the strains was quantitatively studied using cell suspensions. Cells from NO-3-containing anaerobic cultures reduce NO-3, NO-2 and NO to N2O and N2; they reduce slowly N2O to N2. Cells grown in anaerobic cultures under N2O also reduce NO-3, NO-2 and NO to N2O and N2 but they reduce N2O rapidly to N2.

[Denitrifying bacteria of genus Alcaligenes isolated from soil]. / Isolement à partir du sol étude d'une bactérie déntrifiante appartenant au genre Alcaligenes

The organism isolated is a small non-sporulating Gram-negative rod, motile by means of peritrichous flagellae. It is an oxidase-positive chemo-organotroph utilizing O2,NO-3,NO-2 and N2O as resiratory substrates. Primary alcohols as well as numerous organic and amino acids are utilized as carbon and energy sources. Carbohydrates are not assimilated. Poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate is accumulated intracellularly. The bacterium is assigned to the genus Alcaligenes and its phenotype characteristics are compared with those of A. faecalis.

[Morphological, physiological and taxonomic studies of Bacillus azotoformans]. / Etude morphologique, physiologique et taxonomique de Bacillus azotoformans.

Seventeen strains of the new species Bacillus azotoformans were isolated by enrichment culture in peptone broth inoculated with pasteurized soil and then incubated under N2O at 32 degrees C. The bacterium is a Gram-negative rod, motile with peritrichous flagella, which produces oval spores without exosporia in swollen sporangia. However, the cells have thick walls, mesosomes, and persistent septa characteristic of Gram-positive bacteria. The bacterium lacks fermentative activity, does not attack carbohydrates, has complex growth requirements, and will grow anaerobically only if one of the following electron acceptors is present: NO3-, NO2-, N2O, S4O6--, or fumarate. Nitrate, nitrite, and nitrous oxide are denitrified with the production of N2. The microorganism is mesophilic, gives a positive oxidase reaction, synthesizes a type c cytochrome, and does not hydrolyse gelatin, starch, or "Tween 80." Poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid is snythesized when the bacterium is grown in a medium containing DL-3-hydroxybutyrate. The following enzymes are present: nitrate reductase A, respiratory nitrite reductase, tetrathionate and fumarate reductases, and L-glutamate dehydrogenase. The following enzymes are absent: thiosulfate reductase, urease, lecithinase, arginine dihydrolase, phenylalanine deaminase, and catalase. For the 17 strains, the mean value of the G = C percent of the DNA is 39.8 +/- 1.2. All the strains are highly similar.

[Physiological study and taxonomy of Alcaligenes species: A denitrificans, A. odorans and A faecalis]. / Etude physiologique et taxonomique du genre Alcaligenes: A. denitrificans, A. odorans et A. faecalis.

We have studied 43 strains of the species Alcaligenes dentrificans, A. odorans, and A. faecalis. Twenty-five of them were isolated by enrichment culture on minimal medium containing an organic acid (L-malate, succinate, tartrate, adipate, or itaconate) and N2O as a respiratory electron acceptor. These constitute a single phenon with the A. dentrificans strain type and 9 other strains isolated from clinical specimens. However, strain 4 differs from the other 34 strains in 12 nutritional characters, in its ability to effect a meta cleavage of diphenols, and by the absence of tetrathionate reductase. The percentages of G + C are the following: strains isolated from soil, 66.4 +/- 1.1; collection strains, 67.0 +/- 1.3. The 5 strains of A. odorans differ from the 34 strains of A. denitrificans (not including strain 4) in their inability to denitrify nitrate and use D-saccharate, adipate, pimelate, suberate, beta-hydroxy-beta-methylglutarate meso-tartrate, azelate, and itaconate. Their percentage of G + C is much lower: 56.1 +/- 0.4. From the nutritional point of view the 3 strains of A. faecalis resemble A. dentrificans. However, they differ from the latter by their inability to grow anaerobically on NO3-, NO2-, N2O, and by a slightly lower percentage of G+ C: 64.3 +/- 0.0. The 43 strains synthesize poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid. None of them is chemolithotrophic.

[Isolation of bacteria that use that use nitric oxide as a respiratory electron acceptor under anaerobiosis]. / Isolement de bactéries utilisant en anaérobiose l'oxyde nitrique comme accepteur d'électrons respiratoire.

Ten bacteria of the genus Bacillus were isolated from pasteurized soils, in anaerobiosis and at 32 degrees C, on peptone broth containing 0.5% KNO2. They are Gram variable rods producing oval spores. They are oxidase positive and have catalase. They grow, in anaerobiosis, on NO-3, NO-2, N2O, and NO as respiratory electron acceptors. These compounds are reduced to N2.