Coliform Bacteria

Abstract

The oldest members of the coliform group of bacteria, as the reviewer conceives it, are Klebsiella pneumoniae, or Friedlinder's bacillus, described in 1882, and K. rhinoscleromatis, which v.Fritsch recorded the same year. Next come Escherichia coli and Aerobacter aerogenes, both of which were ushered into the bacteriological world in 1885 by Escherich. Somewhat younger is A. cloacae, described in 1890 by Jordan. Proteus morgani, the problem child of the group, dates from 1908 and the juveniles are E. freundii, recorded in Braak's Delft thesis of 1928, and K. paralytica, the etiological agent of "moose disease," described in 1932 by Cahn, Wallace, and Thomas. These are the principal members of the coliform group as listed in the fifth edition of Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (12), a great simplification of the genera Escherichia, Aerobacter and Klebsiella given in the fourth edition (1934) 1 on September 22, 2020 by guest http://mmbr.asm.org/ Downloaded from LELAND W. PARR which contained 35 species. In the latest edition these three genera comprise but ten species.1 With this simplification we are in heartiest accord, but the problem has several aspects. Among them, the principle of simplification, or "lumping," as Skinner and Brudnoy (149) term it, must be defended. The inclusion of the genus Klebsiella2 with the coliform bacteria has to be explained. To claim the Morgan bacillus as a coliform organism will require justification. The broadening of the concept of Escherichia coli to include such forms as E. coli-mutabile and the paracolon bacilli which ferment lactose slowly or not at all is a new development and there are many who will want to know how the "coli-aerogenes intermediates" (180, 165, 25, 123) are classified and why. THE TERM "COLIFORM" The term "coliform" has long been in use by British bacteriologists (4, 23, 59, 92, 100, 132, 133, 160). In America, Breed and Norton (16) suggested the term to describe the lactosefermenting bacteria used as a measure of the pollution of water. In 1937 H. E. Jordan advised that as Editor of the Journal of the American Water Works Association his policy would be to substitute "coliform" bacteria for "B. coli" or "colon group" in papers submitted to him (70). As Jordan also stated, the term "coli-aerogenes" continues as official in water analysis since the eighth edition of Standard Methods of Water Analysis (157) uses it. And "Escherichia-Aerobacter" is also official since that is the terminology employed in the sixth edition of Standard Methods of Milk Analysis (156). SEPARATION OF FRIEDLANDER GROUP FROM OTHER COLIFORM BACTERIA As noted above, the first members of the coliform group to be described were Klebsiella pneumoniae, from acute fibrinous 1The other three species are Klebsiella ozaenae, described by Abel in 1893; K. granulomatis of AragAs and Vianna (1912); and K. capsulata recorded in 1889 by Pfeiffer.

BACTERIOLOGICAL FLORA IN FROZEN AND CHILLED ORANGE JUICEa

“…Some of the culture characteristics of organisms isolated from production and experimental samples of chilled antl frozen orange juice by a direct plating method are presented in Tables 1 and 2. It can be seen that by using Yarr 's scheme, (13,14) and grouping the 150 isolates according to their IMVIC pattern, they fall into two major groups as follows:…”

Bacteriology of Slime in a Citrus‐processing Plant, With Special Reference to Coliforms

“…' The term IMVIC was introduced by Parr (1939) and stands for the indol, methyl red, Voges-Proskauer, and citrate tests. The initial letter of the first three tests is used with Ci from citrate reversed for phonetic reasons.…”

Coli‐aerogenes Bacteria in Raw Milk

“…The term 'coliform' has long been in use by British bacteriologists (Revis, 1910). In America, Breed & Norton (1937) suggested the term to describe the lactosefermenting bacteria used as a measure of the pollution of water and it has been used in the Journal of the American Water Works Association since that year (Parr, 1939). The term 'coli-aerogenes' has become the more usual designation in Britain (Wilson et al 1935; Wilson & Miles, 1946;Report, 1949), and it has continued to be used oficially in America in successive editions of the Standard Methods of Water Analysis.…”

“…The majority of British bacteriologists and several eminent American bacteriologists oppose this proposed change, correct though it be on purely taxonomic grounds. Parr (1939), in his classical review of the coliform bacteria, stated that he would like to follow Jordan (1935) in retaining the genus Bacterium for the entire group of coliform bacteria. His most fundamental objection to the establishment of more than one genus for the coliform bacteria is that it will obscure the essentially inter-grading nature of the organisms in the POUP.…”