The Antibiotic Relationships of Some Free-living Bacteria

Abstract

The sensitivity to antibiotics and the reactions to antibiotic-producing bacteria, streptomyces and fungi of a range of bacteria isolated from soil, leaves and forest litter showed broad differences between the Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms, the fermentative and non-fermentative ones, and, to a lesser extent, between those of leaf origin and those of soil origin. These differences are not alone sufficient to explain the differences between the leaf flora and the soil flora. Other factors, including the capacity to produce antibiotics, are also important.