DEGENERATIVE PROCESSES IN A STRAIN OF CLOSTRIDIUM BUTYLICUM

The butyric acid forming bacteria, if continuously subcultured, undergo certain changes which affect morphological as well as physiological features. These changes were described as early as 1893 by Grimbert as degenerative changes of his cultures. Winogradsky (1902) found that his Clostridium pasteurianum ceased to form spores or clostridial forms in subcultures, and that growth was mainly in the form of long chains of vegetative cells. The rate of fermentation decreased, and the strain lost its ability to fix nitrogen and finally died out. Bredemann (1909) stated that none of his 30 strains could be maintained by direct subculture for any length of time. Continuous cultivation was possible only by the regular use of spores as inoculum. References to this process have continued to appear in the literature until recent years. However, in spite of the early recognition of this phenomenon and its obvious theoretical and practical importance, no detailed study of the degenerative process itself is found in literature. It is our aim in this work to describe in detail the process of degeneratio