AEROBIC GLUCOSE DISSIMILATION BY ACHROMOBACTER SPECIES' I. FATE OF THE CARBON SUBSTRATE

While data have continued to accumulate in the field of bacterial oxidative metabolism, such information for the Achromobacter is relatively incomplete. This neglect has not been completely without reason since these bacteria are nonpathogenic and normally grow on carbohydrate substrates without gas pro-duction or copious acidity. In delineating the area for the metabolic study here reported the taxonomic work of Rush (1947) which surveyed 426 strains of Achromobacter, of which 93 per cent exhibited strongly aerobic preferences, suggested a metabolism incom-patible with that usually associated with facultatively anaerobic types. Qualita-tive chemical investigations (Sguros and Hartsell, 1952) on a restricted number of species after growth in unagitated, glucose-inorganic salts media largely sub-stantiated Rush's findings since none of the metabolic products usually asso-ciated with facultative anaerobic action on glucose was found. This study is intended as a fundamental approach to the understanding of the metabolism of the genus Achromobacter. Herein are described (1) quantitative studies employed to determine whether all of the substrate not assimilated was completely oxi-dized, (2) the encouragement of acid production in order to enhance the accumu-lation of metabolic intermediates, and (3) the qualitative procedures needed for their detection