The nature of the Aeromonas fermentation.

The genus Aeromona8 was established by Kluyver & van Niel (1936) for pseudomonads fermenting carbohydrates with the production ofcarbon dioxide and hydrogen. Since von Wolzogen Kiihr (1932) had previously shown that a xnember of this group, Pseudomonas fermentan8, gave a positive VogesProskauer reaction, the existence of a butylene glycol fermentation in the genus was suspected, although the absence of exact data on the products of fermentation left this point unsettled. During the course of an intensive investigation on the bacteriological production of 2:3-butylene glycol (Adams & Stanier, 1944), it seemed desirable to make a somewhat closer study of this little-known Aeromona8 fermentatior.. The recent discovery of polar flagellation in P. ateu8 hydrophilus (Kulp & Borden, 1942; Guthrie & Hitchner, 1943), taken in conjunction with its fermentative abilities, mark this organism as an Aeromonas species, and since cultures were readily available it was chosen as a representative of the group.