VITAMINS AND NITROGEN REQUIREMENTS OF ARTHROBACTER SPECIES

Abstract

Fifty-two strains of Arthrobacter, picked from a collection of 170 strains isolated from glycine enrichments inoculated with soil, sewage and activated sludge were found to be exacting to vitamins or aminoacids. According to their requirements they could be divided into five sub-groups. The I subgroup demanded thiamine alone, the It thiamine and pantothenate, the HI thiamine, pyridoxine and glutarnic acid, the IV thiamine, pantothenate and glutamic acid or sulphur containing amino acids as nitrogen source. The V subgroup comprised those which demanded organic form of nitrogen, glutamic acid serving the purpose most effectively. Biotin was found stimulatory but not essential for the II and III Subgroups. Some of the strains in subgroup II exhibited an interesting cycle of morphogenesis in media with and without biotin. A role for biotin in the normal life cycle of Arthrobacter has been postulated.