STRAIN SPECIFICITY AND PRODUCTION OF ANTIBIOTIC SUBSTANCES. X. CHARACTERIZATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF SPECIES WITHIN THE STREPTOMYCES GRISEUS GROUP

Abstract

In 1948, a detailed description of the streptomycin-producing organism was blishedl3 under the name Streptomyces griseus (Krainsky) Waksman and Henrici. the eleven years that have since passed, there has accumulated a very extensive arature dealing with this organism and a number of related forms. Numerous rieties have been described, and a certain degree of confusion has arisen. It ,s thereby established that we are dealing here not with a single species, but with group of closely related forms. Because of the great economic importance of is group, its re-evaluation and reinterpretation is justified at this time. Nomenclature of the Streptomycin-Producing Organism.-In 1916, Waksman and irtis isolated from different soils cultures of an organism which they believed be similar to a culture previously isolated and described as Actinomyces griseus Krainsky.5 Waksmanl? soon recognized, however, that the two organisms were ghtly different. Since no type culture of Krainsky's organism has ever been ailable for comparison, all the descriptions subsequently published in the various itions of Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology were based upon that of aksman and Curtis,l later modified by Waksman,l? and by Waksman et al.13 hen Waksman and Henricil2 proposed, in 1943, to create a new genus Streptoices, this organism was named Streptomyces griseus. The strain to which this me was applied carries our laboratory number 3463. It was the first streptoTcin-producing culture and has been designated as the type culture (by original signation) of the new species Streptomyces griseus Waksman and Henrici. The original proposal to create a new generic name Streptomyces was made by aksman and Henrici in a manuscript submitted to the Journal of Bacteriology in >ril, 1943, and to Dr. R. S. Breed in May, 1943, for publication in the sixth ition of Bergey's Manual. This name first appeared in the Journal of Bacteri,gy in October, 1943; unfortunately, the sixth edition of Bergey's Manual, Lich contained a detailed description of Streptomyces griseus was not published til 1948.