Studies on Bacterial Spores

Abstract

B. mycoides Flugge was cultivated in peptone solutions, concentration and extent of aeration being varied. The % of spores, determined after 24 hrs. at 30[degree]C, increased as the concentration of peptone decreased, and was consistently higher as the degree of aeration was increased. The volume of growth increased with increase in amount of peptone, but seemed to be unaffected by degree of aeration above the minimum used. These results are not general: some of the aerobic spore-formers studied behaved like B. mycoides; others formed no spores under the experimental conditions; a few, like B. fusiformis, produced a higher % of spores with increased concentration of peptone solution. Dissociation may profoundly alter the mechanism of spore production.