STRAIN VARIATIONS IN C. BIFERMENTANSi

Clostr'idium bifermentans was first isolated and described by' Tissier and Martelly (1902), and was generally accepted as a distinct and definite species until Hall (1922) observed that some bifermentans strains were motile, therein differing from the orig-inal deseription. Correlated with this difference in motility, he found certain other differences-in agglutination and in deep colony morphology. He proposed dividing this species into two species, retaining the name C. bifermentans for the non-motile strains, and designating the motile strains as C. centrosporogenes. Kahn (1924), after an extensive comparative study of the anaerobes, recognized this designation, but suggested that per-haps it should be regarded as "a strain variant of C. sporogenes and that the cultural features exhibited by Hall's type are not sufficient to warrant a new specific name. " Similarly Weinberg and Ginsbourg (1927), in a review of proposed new species, state that C. centrospo rogenes is merely a particular strain (souche particuli6re) of C. sporogenes. Sturges and Drake (1928), however, examining Hall's strains of C. bifermentars and C. centrosporogenes in sealed capillary tubes, found motility in all strains examined, and suggested that C. centrosporogenes was probably much more closely related to C. bifermentans than to C. sporogenes. The proteolytic ability of C. bifermentans is another point on which the results of different investigators vary. Tissier an