A Bacteriolytic Principle Associated with Cultures of Bacillus cereus

Abstract

B. cereus M.8 was grown on nutrient agar for 12 hours at 30[degree], the growth washed off and the organisms removed. The supernatant contains a lytic principle which is filterable, non-dialyzable, heat-labile and relatively non-specific. Cytological changes during lysis indicate that while the contents of the cells are apparently going into solution, the cell walls appear to remain almost intact. This lytic principle is compared with similar agents recently reported.