DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF BACILLUS CEREUS, BACILLUS ANTHRACIS , AND BACILLUS CEREUS VAR. MYCOIDES

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Abstract
Large numbers of strains were employed in a critical evaluation of the common techniques commonly employed for the laboratory diagnosis of B. anthracis, B. cereus, and Bacillus cereus var. mycoides. Evidence is presented which strongly indicates that absence of motility, susceptibility to certain bacteriophages (especially gamma), and pathogenicity of small inocula for rabbits constitute the main differential characteristics of B. anthracis when compared with those of other closely related gram-positive bacilli. Attention was directed to the significance, for the study of genetic development, of the artificial selection of pathogenicity in B. anthracis resulting from serial passage on blood-glucose media. It was concluded that the names Bacillus cereus, B. cereus var. anthracis, and B. cereus var. mycoides furnish the most appropriate taxonomic description of these organisms.