Factors necessary for maximum growth of Clostridium bifermentans.

The nutritional requirements of some members of the genus Clostridium are, as yet, incompletely known. Not only is maximum growth in some species, such as Clostridium parabotulinum (Elberg and Meyer, 1939), dependent upon some unidentified substance, but in others, such as Clostridium tetani (Mueller and Miller, 1948) and Clostridium perfringens (Adams, Hendee, and Pappenheimer, 1947), high yields of toxin or exocellular enzymes are produced only in the presence of unknown substances, although luxuriant growth can be obtained in their absence. The results of the present study indicate that in addition to biotin, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, and pyridoxamine, some unidentified material is necessary for the maximum growth of CJostridium bifermentans in a synthetic medium.