Antagonism by Aerobacter Strains.

The literature on the antagonistic action of members of the genus Aerobacter is rather scanty. Winslow and Cohen (1918a, 1918b) reported that when a mixture of 46 per cent BaciUus aerogenes cells and 54 per cent Bacillus coli cells suspended in unsterilized tap water was stored 60 days, only 29 per cent of the remaining cells were B. coli. A slight degree of antagonism might conceivably have existed; however, Powers and Levine (1937) failed to demonstrate appreciable inhtibition of Escherichia and "intermediate" strains on "staled" media made by adding agar to 10-day broth cultures of Aerobacter aerogenes and Aerobacter cloacae. Gundel (1927) -claimed Bacteum lactis-aerogenes to be antagonistic to Bacillus anthracis but stated that the strains which he used could be distinguished from colon bacilli solely on the basis of capsule formation. Ivanovics (1931) reported only one out of six B. aerogenes strainsmoderately inhibitory toward Eberthella typhosa in plain broth, but all six were markedly inhibitory in sodium tetrathionate broth. Wynne and Williams (1945) confirmed Ivanovics' finding of antagonism of A. aerogenes toward E. typhosa but found a much higher degree of antagonism in plain broth than in sodium tetrathionate medium. Waksman (1945) has cited Fadeeva and Tchernobaiev's 1935 report of antagonism of A. aerogenes toward Bacillus pestis.