NUCLEIC ACID PHOSPHORUS CONTENT OF BACILLUS ANTHRACIS AND BACILLUS CEREUS

I. THE NUCLEIC ACID PHOSPHORUS

Abstract

The DNA and RNA phosphorus content of 32 strains of B. anthracis and 10 strains of B. cereus were determined using the method of Schmidt and Thannhauser(1).
Wide variation was found in the nucleic acid content of both species. Virulent strains of B. anthracis contained significantly more DNA than avirulent strains.