ANAEROBIC DEGRADATION OF CHOLINE I. , Vibrio cholinicus n. sp

Abstract

A new species of Vibrio was isolated from soil by the enrichment culture technic with choline as sole C source. Its morphological, nutritional, and physiological characteristics are described. In the overall fermentation reaction, one mole of choline is converted to one mole of trimethylamine, and one-half mole each of acetic acid and ethanol. Experiments with C14-labeled choline reveal that trimethylamine is the only radioactive product when choline-Me-C14 is fermented; when choline-1,2-C14 is the substrate, all of the isotope is recovered in the ethanol and acetate. A striking characteristic of this organism, an obligate anaerobe, is its production of rather large amounts of a cytochrome pigment. Possible functions of this pigment are discussed. The organism has been tentatively placed in the genus Vibrio by morphologic and nutritional considerations, and the name Vibrio cholinicus nov. sp. is proposed.