Abstract
Nine independently isolated bacterial strians of helically sculptured rods were obtained from dilute peptone enrichments of freshwater sources. Enrichment and isolation procedures exploited the oligotrophic character of these bacteria. They exhibited tenacious adhesiveness, asymmetric fission or budding (which was dependent on the cultural conditions), and a polar or subpolar flagellum in their motile stage. Their adhesiveness was mediated by an excreted holdfast at one pole; stellate aggregation (rosette formation) was commonly observed. Motile daughter cells were generated from the apical end of the rod, opposite the adhesive or attached pole. Their fine pili (4 nm diameter) did not seem to be involved in aggregation. Growth on media containing ulmic acid stimulated production of spherical or oval cell-like bodies. These aquatic isolates resemble the soil bacteriumSeliberia stellata in many of their morphological features.
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Schmidt, J.M., Swafford, J.R. Isolation and morphology of helically sculptured, rosette-forming, freshwater bacteria resemblingSeliberia . Current Microbiology 3, 65–70 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02602433
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02602433