Abstract
THESE are researches towards a fuller knowledge of the morphology and life-history of various orders belonging to Bacteriaceæ. So far the complete life-history of sporogenous forms had only been worked out for a very small number, all belonging to the genus Bacillus. The discovery of spores in the genus Sarcina, and the acquisition of a pure culture of the same by the author, gave him an opportunity of making a complete investigation of this genus. It includes the treatment of spores with various reagents, the germination, the mode of insertion of cilia, the course of development in various media, mode of cell-division, development of spores, and a number of physiological experiments. With appropriate stains the morphology and inner structure of the cell was examined, the cell being differentiated into membrane cytoplasm and nucleus. The results of metabolism fat, glycogen, &c., were not observed, so the products of protoplasm must be dissolved in the cytoplasm, and cannot at present be examined microscopically. The development of the spore is interesting, and requires a very delicate manipulation of stains. It first appears as a vacuole with a central nucleus embedded in it. The vacuole gets denser, until the young spore now dimly outlined stains more deeply than the neighbouring cytoplasm. Then it differentiates a membrane and gradually becomes very strongly refractive, whilst the rest of the cell almost entirely disappears, being only visible when treated with certain stains. This description tallies with Meyer's account of the development of the spore in the genus Bacillus.
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References
(1)"Untersuchunger über Sarcina Streptoccus und Spirillum," Centralblatt für Bakteriologie, Abt. I. Bd. XXXIII. (1903.) (2) "Der Nachweis der Geisseln beiallen Coccaceen," Ibid., Abt. II. Bd. IX. (1902.)(3) "On the Discovery of Cilia in the Genus Bacterium," Ibid., Abt. II. Bd. XI. (1903.) No. 8/9. By David Ellis, Ph.D. (Marburg), B.Sc. (London).
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Recent Discoveries in Bacteriology 1 . Nature 69, 522–523 (1904). https://doi.org/10.1038/069522a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/069522a0