Abstract
THE term 'coliform' has for some time had an obscure mining, and it has become increasingly clear that a definition is desirable. Those interested in medical and veterinary bacteriology have used it to embrace only the morphological characters of many species, riot of Bacterium coli alone, but also of the dysentery bacteria, the salmonella and other Gram-negative rods similar to Bacterium coli. On the other hand, the term 'coliform' is restricted by many water and dairy bacteriologists to those organisms which are not only morphologically similar to Bacterium coli but which also resemble it in its cultural and biochemical characteristics ; some have even regarded it as being synonymous with Bacterium coli of fæcal origin. Because of this confusion and also because there is now a closer liaison between all those who study bacteria from whatever aspect, a committee of nine representing this variety of interests was appointed by the Society for General Microbiology and by the Society for Applied Bacteriology. This committee met on several occasions to discuss various aspects of the matter, and it is hoped that bacteriologists in general will be able to agree upon the meaning of the term 'coliform' which has been put forward.
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Use of the Term 'Coliform'. Nature 163, 394 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/163394c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/163394c0