Med. Chirurg., 21, 1910, 450; Prevot, Ann. Sci. Nat., Ser. Bot., 15, 1933, 170 and 184.) pu'tri.dus. L. adj. putridus rotten, de- cayed. Spheres, averaging 0.8 micron in diame- ter, occurring in chains. Gram-positive. Gelatin: No liquefaction. Semi-solid agar (Veillon) colonies: More or less lenticular; 1 to 2 mm in diameter; no gas produced. Blood agar colonies: 2 mm in diameter; become brownish, sometimes blackish on aging. Surrounded by a brownish hemopep- tic zone. Martin broth: In 6 to 8 hours there is a uniform turbidity which does not precipi- tate completely; no gas; little odor. Martin glucose broth: Rapid, abundant growth; uniform turbidity; sediment; no gas; slight fetid odor; black pigment in the sediment. Meat and liver broth: Very abundant growth; veiy marked putrid odor; incom- plete sedimentation. Peptone broth: Sparse growth; neither gas, odor, hydrogen sulfide nor indole is pro- duced. Milk: No acid; no coagulation. Coagulated protein is not attacked. Deep blood agar: Agar is broken by the gas (hydrogen sulfide). Fresh-blood broth: Abundant gas which contains a large amount of hydrogen sulfide is produced; blood blackens rapidly and has typical putrid odor. Fresh fibrin broth: The fibrin is broken up and partially digested. Lead media are blackened. Acid from glucose, fructose and maltose. Acid sometimes produced from sucrose, mannitol and galactose. Fermentation prod- ucts include valerianic, butyric and acetic acids (Prevot, Ann. Inst. Past., 67, 1941, 88). Neutral red is changed to fluorescent yellow. Anaerobic. Temperature relations: Optimum, be- tween 36° and 38° C. Growth feeble at 28° C. No growth below 22° C. Killed in ten min- utes at 80° C. Optimum pH, between 7.0 and 8.5. Rare strains are pathogenic for laboratory animals. Distinctive characters: Putrescence but absence of gas in ordinary media; presence of gas and hydrogen sulfide in media with fresh tissue or body fluids. Comments: Thomas and Hare (Jour. Clin. Path., 7, 1954, 302) divide certain of the anaerobic cocci into nine groups and state that Group I is essentially Streptococmis putridus. This group is described as in- cluding Gram-positive, anaerobic spheres, 0.6 to 0.8 micron in diameter, which grow in the form of chains and which, in media containing 0.01 per cent sodium oleate, 0.1 per cent sodium thioglycollate and 1.0 per cent of the substance tested, produce acid and gas from glucose, fructose and maltose and gas from pyruvate; galactose, sucrose, malate, citrate, tartrate and lactate are not attacked. Gas is produced in ordinary media if sulfur compounds are present. Source: Isolated from normal and fetid lochia; blood in puerperal fever; gangrenous appendicitis; gangrene of the lung; gas gan- grene; gangrenous metastases; war wounds; osteomyelitis and from amniotic fluid. Found in sea water by Montel and Mous- seron (Paris Medical, 1929). Habitat: Found in the human mouth and intestines and especially in the vagina. 4. Peptostreptococcus productus (Pre- vot, 1941) Smith, comb. nov. (Streptococcus productus Pr6vot, Compt. rend. Soc. Biol., Paris, 135, 1941, 105.) pro.duc'tus. L. adj. productus lengthened. Large spheres, 0.7 to 1.2 microns in diame- ter, occurring in chains which contain 6 to 20 cells. Gram-positive. Gelatin: No liquefaction. Gas and odor produced. Deep agar colonies: Lens-shaped; slight gas. Glucose broth: Homogeneous turbidity; viscid; mucoid, coherent sediment; slight gas; hydrogen sulfide is produced. Peptone broth: Homogeneous turbidity; no gas; indole not produced. Milk: Slowly coagulated (8 to 10 daj^s). Coagulated proteins not attacked. Acid and gas from glucose, fructose, xy- lose, arabinose, sorbose and lactose. Fer- mentation products include ammonia, hy- drogen sulfide, acetic and propionic acids
