Laboratories of The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.
J Exp Med. 1917 Mar 1;25(3):375-80. doi: 10.1084/jem.25.3.375.
Various carbohydrates have been added to the fluid cultures of different strains of spirochetes in order to determine the behavior of the latter toward the carbohydrates. In the present experiment, amygdalin, arabinose, beerwort, dextrin, galactose, glycogen, glucose, inulin, lactose, levulose, maltose, mannite, raffinose, saccharose, and starch were tested with seven strains of Treponema pallidum and one strain each of Treponema calligyrum, Treponema microdentium, Treponema mucosum, and Spirochata refringens. The results may be summarized as follows: 1. In the media containing glycogen and glucose, Treponema microdentium did not grow as vigorously as in other sugar media, and an earlier degeneration set in. One strain of the pallidum and the calligyrum and mucosum showed a poor growth in the glycogen medium. Similarly, there was little growth in the second transfer of these spirochetes in the glucose medium. The growth of the spirochetes in the media containing carbohydrates other than those Just mentioned was generally good, and no difference could be distinguished between these and the control cultures without any carbohydrate. The only phenomenon which might be interpreted as indicating a favorable influence of these media upon growth was the abundant growth of the mucosum, which showed uniform length, regular curves, and active motility somewhat better than in the sugar-free medium. 2. The height of acidity was found in the cultures containing glycogen and glucose in the microdentium, amounting to 0.1 N 4.8 cc. for 10 cc. of the fluid culture. In the other sugar media the acidity varied between 0.1 N 2 cc. and 0.1 N 3.2 cc. for the same amount. In the control cultures, the acidity fluctuated from 0.1 N 0.8 cc. to 0.1 N 2 cc. There was no visible alteration in the appearance of the media after the spirochetes had grown for 3 or 4 weeks. In the case of Treponema microdenlium, a slight opalescence developed in the glycogen and glucose media after several weeks' standing, but there was no precipitation or coagulation of the proteins of the culture media. 3. There was no unusual morphological change in the spirochetes grown in the media containing any of the carbohydrates employed. The only phenomena which should be mentioned are (a) the frequent presence of the terminal appendages (or projections) in the refringens, and in most of the pallidum strains, and (b) the appearance of minute, retractile spherical bodies along the side of the spirochetes in the microdenlium cultivated in the glucose or glycogen media. Judging from the earlier degeneration of the species in the above mentioned media, these peculiar bodies may be interpreted as indicating a phase of plasmoptysis associated with the unfavorable surroundings prior to degeneration. Experimental evidence was not found for considering these spherules as a resistant or spore form of the spirochete.
为了确定后者对碳水化合物的行为，已经向不同品系的旋体的液体培养物中添加了各种碳水化合物。在本实验中，用七种苍白密螺旋体菌株和一种密螺旋体、微齿密螺旋体、粘质密螺旋体和旋体的菌株测试了苦杏仁苷、阿拉伯糖、啤酒花、糊精、半乳糖、糖原、葡萄糖、菊粉、乳糖、果糖、麦芽糖、甘露醇、棉子糖、蔗糖和淀粉。结果可以总结如下：
在含有糖原和葡萄糖的培养基中，微齿密螺旋体的生长不如在其他糖培养基中旺盛，而且较早出现退化。苍白密螺旋体和粘质密螺旋体的一种菌株在糖原培养基中生长不良。同样，这些螺旋体在葡萄糖培养基中的第二次传代生长也很少。含有除上述碳水化合物以外的碳水化合物的培养基中的螺旋体生长一般良好，与不含任何碳水化合物的对照培养基相比，没有区别。唯一可能被解释为这些培养基对生长有有利影响的现象是粘质密螺旋体的大量生长，其长度均匀，曲线规则，运动活跃，比无糖培养基稍好。
在含有糖原和葡萄糖的微齿密螺旋体培养物中发现酸度最高，达到 0.1N4.8cc。对于 10cc 的液体培养物。在其他糖培养基中，酸度在 0.1N2cc 和 0.1N3.2cc 之间变化。在对照培养物中，酸度从 0.1N0.8cc 波动到 0.1N2cc。在密螺旋体生长 3 或 4 周后，培养基的外观没有明显变化。在密齿密螺旋体的情况下，几周后在糖原和葡萄糖培养基中出现轻微的乳光，但培养基中的蛋白质没有沉淀或凝结。
在含有任何所用碳水化合物的培养基中生长的密螺旋体没有出现异常的形态变化。唯一应该提到的现象是（a）在旋体中经常出现末端附属物（或突起），在大多数苍白密螺旋体菌株中，以及（b）在微齿密螺旋体在葡萄糖或糖原培养基中生长时，沿密螺旋体侧面出现微小的可缩回的球形体。从上述培养基中物种的早期退化来看，这些特殊的体可以被解释为表明在退化之前与不利环境相关的质溶作用阶段。没有发现实验证据表明这些球体是密螺旋体的抗性或孢子形式。
