Observations on the Morphological Variability of Bacteria

I. On Amorphous Mass Formation

Abstract

Many observations have been done on pleomorphism of bacteria, but they are far from complete. Since 1931 I have been occupied with experiments relating to this problem and found amorphous mass formation in Flavobacterium A in hanging drop cultures.
Such mass formation results from agglutination and subsequent fusion of a number of cells which are either descendants of a single cell or clumping ones of multiple origins. I observed also that minute particles germ out from the amorphous mass to assume the ordinary form again.
Such mass-formation has been observed by me in Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas ovalis, Achromobacter multistriatum, Serratia marcescens, Escherichia coli, Eberthella typhi, and Salmonella paratyphi.