SYMPOSIUM ON THE LACTIC ACID BACTERIA

The lactic acid bacteria have attracted the attention of bacteriologists since the beginning of bacteriology. They have been of particular practical interest to the food and fermentation industries. The chemical activities of certain species are essential in the manufacture of a variety of foods and fermented products, whereas certain other species ruin these products. A few species are of medical importance. The streptococci and lactobacilli particularly have been subjected to much taxonomic and basic research. However, taxonomists recognize an increasing need for satisfactory means of identifying, differentiating, and characterizing the genera and species in the family Lactobacteriaceae. During the past decade, special attention and investigation have been directed to the role of vitamins and amino acids in the nutrition and physiology of the lactic acid bacteria. The results of studies during this brief period have provided fundamental information of incalculable value toward improving the nutrition of higher forms of life, particularly of man. Furthermore, they show that certain selected species and strains of lactic acid bacteria are not only "indispensable analytical tools for biochemical and nutritional research," but are also extremely useful for assaying foods and other materials for their contents of vitamins and amino acids. Thus, an entirely new field of bacteriological research has developed. Much fundamental and practical information has been obtained recently