1954. (Bulletin of Marine Sciences of the Indole not produced. Gulf and Caribbean, ^, 1954, 110.) Hydrogen sulfide not produced. pis.ci'ci.da. L. noun piscis a fish; L.v. L. Glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, lac- adj. suffix -cidus from L. v. caedo to cut, tose, mannitol and salicin not attacked, kill; M.L. noun piscicida fish killer. Starch not hydrolyzed. Straight rods, 0.6 to 0.8 by 1.2 to 1.8 mi- Nitrites not produced from nitrates, crons, occurring singly and in chains. Mo- Urease-negative. tile by means of peritrichous flagella. Gram- Pathogenic for fish, killing schoolmasters negative. {Lutjanus apodus) in five minutes and sand All media except fresh-water broth and perch {Eucinostomus pseudogula), killifish litmus milk were prepared with sea water. (Fundulus similis) and mollies {Mollienesia Gelatin stab: Rapid, crateriform lique- Za/zpinna) within 24 hours, faction. Distinctive characters: Requires sea Agar colonies: Spreading, irregular, glis- water for growth. Little or no pigmentation tening; edges undulate to lobate. appears when the peptone concentration is Agar slant (1.0 per cent peptone) : Glisten- 0.1 per cent; intense pigmentation occurs ing, yellow-orange growth. with 1.0 per cent peptone sea-water media. Peptone broth (1 per cent) : Ammonia not Source: Isolated from "red tide" water produced. from the vicinity of Whitewater Bay on the Nutrient broth: No growth. southwest coast of Florida during an out- Sea-water broth: Heavy turbidity; pel- break of mass mortalitj' of fishes. licle. Habitat: Found in sea water. Known to Litmus milk: No growth. occur off the coast of Florida. Genus IV. Agarbacteriuni Angst, 1929* (Puget Sound Biol. Sta. Pub., 7, 1929, 52.) A.gar.bac.te'ri.um. Malayan noun agar agar, a jelly from seaweed; Gr. neut.dim.n. bacterium a small rod; M.L. neut.n. Agarhacterium agar (-digesting) rodlet. Short to medium-sized rods which are either motile by means of peritrichous flagella or non-motile; some species are included here in which the position of the flagella is unknown but which possess other characters of this genus. f Gram-negative. May or may not possess non-diffusible pigments. Carbohydrates are feebly attacked, if at all, some species produc- ing acid but no gas. Agar is digested. Found primarily on decomposing seaweed and in sea water; also found in fresh water and soil. The type species is Agarhacterium aurantiacum Angst. Key to the species of genus Agarbacteriiiin. I. Motile. A. Type of flagellation not determined. 1. Chromogenic. a. Acid from lactose and mannitol. 1. Agarbacteriuni aurantiacum. aa. No acid from lactose or mannitol. 2. Agarhacterium rhodomelae.
- Prepared by Prof. Robert S. Breed, Cornell University, Geneva, New York, October,
1955. t The type of flagellation of the type species, Agarhacterium aurantiacum Angst, has not been determined. In the event that this species is proved to be polar flagellate, the genus Agarbacteriuni should be placed in the family Pseudomonadaceae. The peritrichous, Gram- negative agar-digesting species should then remain in a separate genus in the family Achro- mohacteraceae, where they are presently located.
