The Occurence and Properties of Uric Acid Decomposing Anaerobic Bacteria in the Avian Caecum

摘要

Summary.Anaerobic bacteria which decompose uric acid have been found in the caeca of chickens, turkeys, ducks, pheasants and guinea‐fowl at levels between 5.4 × 108and 1.8 × 1010/g of caecal material (wet weight). A study has been made of the properties and identity of 35 strains which were present in high numbers in the chicken caecum. The isolates included strains ofBacteroides clostridiiformisvar.clostridiiformis, Fusobacterium plauti, Clostridium malenominatum, Peptostreptococcus productusand a number of types which could not be identified with known species. Of these 3 wereBacteroidesspp., 3Eubacteriumspp., 2Peptostreptococcusspp. and 1 was an anaerobicStreptococcus. None of the strains had an absolute requirement for uric a