Glucose Metabolism of Bacteria Belonging to Sh. flexneri Part 1. The Glucose Oxidation of the Bacteria Growing on Agar and Fluid Media

With the use of the bacteria of standard strain such as Sh. flexneri 1 a, 1 a, 2 a, 3 a, 4 a and 5. a series of experiments were conducted in order to study the modos of glucose oxidation of each of these bacteria growing on plain agar and still-standing or shaking fluid medium containing glucose and pepton. The results are presented in the following. 1. Each of these bacteria oxidize glucose converting into pyruvate, and a portion of glucose is converted to lactate or acetate and still other portion of it is completely oxidized. 2. In inhibitory experiments using DNP and arsenite, it has been found that each of these bacteria growing on the plain agar medium oxidizes glucose primarily by the Embden-Meyerhof pathway. 3. Those bacteria grown on the fluid medium containing glucose likewise oxidize glucose by the Embden-Meyerhof pathway in the case of still-standing culture, whereas in the case of shaking culture they seem to convert glucose by other pathway too, most likely by the Warburg-Dickens pathway or even the pathway, gluconate, 2-keto gluconate or 5-ketogluconate can be thought to develop.