Chemical factors in the germination of spore-bearing aerobes. The effects of amino-acids on the germination of Bacillus anthracis, with some observations on the relation of optical form to biological activity

The first paper of this series It thus became possible to study the effects of amino-acids on germination, since the optimum concentration expected for many of them, of the order of 100 mg./l. on the basis ofthe optimum concentration of gelatin hydrolysate (0-25 %), was much greater than that of the adenosine. Observations on amino-acid requirements were therefore not likely to be vitiated by trace impurities in the adenosine, which was, necessarily, a natural product.