Studies on bacterial amino-acid decarboxylases

Abstract

logous series, but the two-dimensional chromato- gram is especially convenient, in that it shows at a glance information that can be gained otherwise only as the result of numerous experiments.The position of unknown substances on chromatograms developed with suitable pairs of solvents will also provide a clue to the existence of certain groups in the molecules, e.g.hydroxyl, acidic, basic or cyclic.A few peptides have been shown to give satis- factory bands and, also satisfactory colours with ninhydrin.In fact the work reported here was undertaken as a preliminary to the study of the products of the partial hydrolysis of proteins. ORGANISMS USED1. Escherichia coli.National Collection of Type Cultures no.86. 2. Bact.cadaveri8.This organism was isolated from pieces of meat left to putrify in phthalate buffer at pH 4. The organism was obtained by plating on to casein-digestglucose-agar; we are indebted to Dr Tomlinson of the Emergency Public Health Service for the following charac- terization tests: acid and gas (24 hr.) in glucose, maltose, mannose; (5 days) in sucrose; no fermentation in lactose or salicin; indol negative; non-motile Gram-negative rod: the organism may therefore be classfied in the paracolon group.A culture has been deposited with the National Collection under the classification no.6578.