An aerobic soil microorganism which decomposes blood group substances. I. Metabolic and immunochemical studies.

A number of microorganisms have the ability to degrade cellulose, agar, bacterial polysaccharides, and blood group substances. The Myxococcus of Morgan and Thaysen (1933) was shown to split blood group A substance in horse saliva but not the A substance in peptone (Landsteiner and Chase, 1935a, b). It also attacked the specific polysaccharide of Shigella dysenteriae (Shiga and Flexner), pneumococcus type II, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Saccharobacterium ovale, isolated by Sickles and Shaw (1934), split blood group A substance and type II pneumococcal polysaccharide (Landsteiner and Chase, 1934b). Chase (1938) reported the isolation from leaf mold of a gram-negative coccobacillus which grew well in a basal salt solution (0.1 per cent (NH4)2SO4, 0.2 per cent K2HPO4) containing blood group A substance, the specific serological activity of which disappeared as a result of bacterial multiplication. In this paper are reported the results of further investigation into the metabolism of this latter organism, with particular reference to its effect on blood group substances. Chase's original observations have been confirmed, and it has been shown that growth in solutions of blood group substance results not only in the disappearance of serologic activity but also in the decomposition of the substances, with utilization of their individual sugar components by the organism.