Centraalbureau Voor Schimmelcultures Research Articles

COLLECTIONS OF MICROORGANISMS

AT the meeting of the Society for General Microbiology held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine during December 19-20, an afternoon session was devoted to a symposium on the “Role, Organisation and Maintenance of Collections of Living Micro-organisms”. The Committee of the Society was fortunate in being able to arrange, through the good offices of the British Council, for Prof. Johanna Westerdijk, director of the Centraal bureau voor Schimmelcultures, Baarn, Holland, and Prof. A. J. Kluyver, director of the Laboratorium voor Microbiologie at the Technische Hoogeschool, Delft, Holland, to take part in the meeting and in this way renew with British men of science contacts that had been broken by war. From an analysis of the papers submitted and of the subsequent discussion it appeared that the sense of the meeting was in accord with a principle implicit in the constitution of the Society, namely, to promote the co-ordination of microbiology in its various disciplines and at its different levels ; the development and maintenance of generalized collections of micro-organisms being ancillary to this purpose.

Studies in the Biochemistry of Micro-organisms. Part V.—Quantitative examination by the carbon balance sheet method of the types of products formed from glucose by species of Fusarium

In view of the encouraging results obtained from the preparation of carbon balance sheets for a number of species of Aspergilus , as reported in Part III, the work was extended to other groups and, by way of contrast, carbon balance sheets were prepared for a considerable number of species of Fusarium . It is evident from Wollenweber’s “ Monograph on the Fusaria '*(see ‘ Phytopathology ’ (1913), Vol. 3, p. 24) that the classification of the Fusaria on morphological grounds is very difficult. It was hoped that, as a result of the preparation of carbon balance sheets, some biochemical classification on the lines of the Aspergillus group might be possible, and in order to ensure that the cultures used were authentic, almost the whole of those chosen for investigation were Wollenweber’s own cultures purchased from the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures at Baarn. The methods of investigation adopted were those described in Part II and applied to the Aspergillus group in Part III. The following is the history of the species of Fusarium used in this work :— *(1) F. viride (Lechm.) Wr., Catalogue No. Ag. 81. Purchased from Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures at Baarn. *(2) F. solani Mart. var. minus Wr., Catalogue No. Ag. 83. Purchased from Baarn. (3) F. lini Bolley, Catalogue No. Ag. 60. Purchased from British National Collection of Type Cultures, No. 1082. *(4) F. Martii App. et Wr., Catalogue No. Ag. 77. Purchased from Baarn. (5) F. species , Catalogue No. Ag. 80. Isolated at Ardeer from infected potato haulm. (6) F. dianthi Prill, et Del., Catalogue No. Ag. 69. Purchased from British National Collection of Type Cultures No. 1136. *(7) F. uncinatum Wr., Catalogue No. Ag. 75. Purchased from Baarn. ’•‘(8) F. trichothecioides Wr., Catalogue No. Ag. 73. Purchased from Baarn. *(9) F. tubercularioides (Corda) Sacc., Catalogue No. Ag. 72. Purchased from Baarn. *(10) F. coerulm (Lib.) Sacc., Catalogue No. Ag. 65. Purchased from Baarn. *(11) F. salicis Fuck., Catalogue No. Ag. 69. Purchased from Baarn. *(12) F.javanicum Koorders, Catalogue No. Ag. 78. Purchased from Baarn. *(13) F.falcatum App. et Wr., Catalogue No. Ag. 82. Purchased from Baarn. *(14) F. avenaceum (Fr.) Sacc., Catalogue No. Ag. 76. Purchased from Baarn. (15) F. sporotrichoides Sherb., Catalogue No. Ag. 58. Purchased from British National Collection of Type Cultures, No. 1296. *(16) F. sambucinum Fuck., Catalogue No. Ag. 70. Purchased from Baarn. (17) F. vasinfectum Atk., Catalogue No. Ag. 71. Purchased from Baarn. *(18) F. rhizophilum Corda, Catalogue No. Ag. 74. Purchased from Baarn. *(19) F. metachroum Ap p . et W r ., Catalogue No. Ag. 68. Purchased from Baarn. (20) F. species , Catalogue No. Ag. 61. Isolated at Ardeer from a rotting potato. *(21) F. orthoceras App . et W r ., Catalogue No. Ag. 66. Purchased from Baarn. (22) F. scirpi P amr et Fautr., Catalogue No. Ag. 79. Purchased from Baarn. (23) F. oxysporum Schlecht, Catalogue No. Ag. 67. Purchased from Baarn. Fifteen of the cultures in the above list which are marked with an asterisk were Wollenweber’s cultures purchased from Baarn. The carbon balance sheets prepared for these species are given in Tables I and II.

Studies in the Biochemistry of Micro-organisms. Part XVII. The Products of Glucose Metabolism formed by various species of Fungi ( Helminthosporium, Clasterosporium , etc.)

In the following paper an account is given of the investigation of the metabolic products formed from glucose by various species of fungi belonging to different genera. These species were chosen for investigation since the carbon balance sheets prepared for them, when grown on Czapek-Dox glucose solution, indicated that each of them gives rise to considerable quantities of some metabolic product. The isolation, identification and approximate estimation of these products are described in detail. The species of fungi chosen for examination were the following: (а) Helminthosporium geniculatum Tracy et Earle. Catalogue No. Ag. 93. This species was purchased in 1925 from the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures at Baarn. For carbon balance sheet, see Part VI, Table VIII, p. i ll . (b) Clasterosporium species , Catalogue No. Ag. 64. This species was isolated at Ardeer in 1924 from decaying cotton pulp, and its diagnosis was confirmed by Mr. F. T. Brooks, of the School of Botany, Cambridge. For carbon balance sheet, see Part VI, Table XII, p. 118. (c) Aspergillus Wentii Wehmer. Catalogue No. Ac. 81. This species was received from Miss Church, of the United States Bureau of Agriculture, at Washington, and bears the Thom and Church Catalogue No. 4202 • 16C. For carbon balance sheet, see Part III, Table XI, p. 45. (d) Fumago vagans Pers. Catalogue No. Ag. 92. This species was purchased from Baarn in 1925. For carbon balance sheet, see Part VI, Table XI, p. 116. (e) Penicillium species . Catalogue No. Ad. 11. This species was isolated at Ardeer in 1922 from mouldy tobacco and was diagnosed by Dr. Charles Thom as “ Ad. 11—one of the P. chrysogenum lot.” For carbon balance sheet see Part IV, Table V, p. 63.