Summary
Exocellular fibrils, consisting of true cellulose, were found to be produced by many bacteria. These bacteria have been selected out of a large number of strains isolated from activated sludge on the basis of their flocculent growth habit in liquid medium.
The amount of cellulose, present in the bacterial flocs, varied from 1.0 to 4.0%. In addition to strains isolated from activated sludge, like Pseudomonas, Achromobacter, Alcaligenes and Aerobacter, also strains of the genera Rhizobium, Agrobacterium and Azotobacter were found to give flocculent growth due to the formation of cellulose fibrils.
Bacterial flocculation in pure cultures of the strains examined was mainly caused by the production of exocellular fibrils. Apparently, the formation of cellulose fibrils seems to be a common property of Gram-negative, floc-forming bacteria, and may not be restricted to Acetobacter xylinum.
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Deinema, M.H., Zevenhuizen, L.P.T.M. Formation of cellulose fibrils by gram-negative bacteria and their role in bacterial flocculation. Archiv. Mikrobiol. 78, 42–57 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00409087
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00409087