From mgs23@pacbell.net Wed Aug 11 16:41:41 1999 Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 12:09:10 -0700 From: Misha To: SANET-mg Subject: Soil organisms antagonistic to pathogens Howdy, all-- Ran across this reference in pursuit of an answer to Loren's question about limberneck. It meshes with a number of threads on SANET recently, including soil health as a contributor to overall health, and the value of "old" information/research. Waksman, S.A., and Woodruff, H.B. 1940 The soil as a source of microorganisms antagonistic to disease-producing bacteria. J. Bacteriol. 40, 581-600. http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/ENGLISH/LIFE/MIGBIRDS/AVIANB/References/ab117.html [Summary] The soil contains a number of different types of microorganisms antagonistic to various bacteria belonging to gram-positive and gram-negative groups. By enriching the soil with the specific bacteria, the corresponding antagonists increase and can be readily isolated. This has been done most readily by the use of an agar medium containing viable cells of the specific organism as the sole available nutrient. Out of a number of antagonistic organisms isolated from the soil, two were studied in greater detail, one a bacterium belonging to the Pseudomonas aeruginosa group, and the other an Actinomyces. These organisms were found to inhibit the growth of several gram-negative bacteria, as well and, even to a greater extent, of numerous gram-positive bacteria. The active substance produced by the two antagonists was found to be largely thermostable; it passed through a Seitz filter, it was removed by charcoal and was, partly at least, ethersoluble. Highly active preparations were obtained which inhibited, in very dilute solutions, the growth of Escherichia coli, Brucella abortus, and of many other bacteria. The active substance had also a strong bactericidal effect upon Escherichia coli (215,000,000 viable cells) and of Brucella abortus (68,000,000 viable cells). The active substance of the two antagonists was found to reduce, in very low concentrations, the bacterial populations of natural substrates, such as milk; when added to aggar it prevented the development of the great majority of soil bacteria and actinomycetes, but not of fungi. See also: http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/ENGLISH/LIFE/MIGBIRDS/AVIANB/References/ab209.html Wentz, M.W., Scott, R.A., and Vennes, J.W. 1967 Clostridium botulinum type F, seasonal inhibition by Bacillus licheniformis. Science 155, 89-90. [Abstract] Clostridium botulinum type F has been identified during the summer months in mud samples from a small stream. Its absence during the period from October to April in these mud samples is attributed to the presence of Bacillus licheniformis. Some peer-reviewed, published evidence that when a system is in balance, and soil is healthy, specific pathogens stand less of a chance of flourishing. peace misha ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Michele Gale-Sinex Communications manager Center for Integrated Ag Systems, UW-Madison http://www.wisc.edu UW voice mail: 608-262-8018 Home office: 415-504-6474 (504-MISH) Home office fax: Same as above, phone first for enabling ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Red meat is NOT bad for you. Blue-green meat, now *that's* bad for you! --Tommy Smothers To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command "unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest". All messages to sanet-mg are archived at: http://www.sare.org/san/htdocs/hypermail