Mono- and Disaccharides in Growth of Lactobacillus bifidus and Its Mutants

Abstract
L. bifidus utilizes the disaccharides lactose and maltose, but not sucrose, more readily than the mono-saccharides glucose and galactose. The reverse is true of straight red variants of L. bifidus. Several strains of L. acidophilus utilize glucose or lactose equally well or use glucose more readily. During growth of L. bifidus on lactose, glucose and galactose accumulated in the medium. The straight rod mutant of L. bifidus, on the other hand, utilizes lactose completely.