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ROBINA B. SCHOLES AND J. M. SHEWAN
encountered on land are as great as those found in their marine counterparts and are no more than a reflection of the environment. In the
present state of our knowledge of bacterial systematics it would be no
more than pragmatic to consider marine types as variants, ecotypes or
races adapted to the specific marine environment.
B. Taxonomic considerations
However, apart from these arguments over definition, it is still
true that most workers in marine microbiology find great difficulty in
identifying their isolates, no matter which determinative key they we.
Whether these differences are real or not they have resulted in the
publication of quite different determinative keys. Three major keys are
available, viz. that of Bergey (Breed et al., 1957), used almost exclusively in U.S.A., Britain and the Commonwealth ; that of Krassilnikov, popular in Russia and East European countries (1959) ; and a
third, by Pr6vot (1961), much used on the Continent, resembling Bergey
but differing in several important respects. The main differences between
Krassilnikov and Bergey is said to concern the fundamental approach
to taxonomy. As we understand it, the difference, as seen by the
Russians, is that Bergey is based on the idealistic notion of species as a
taxonomic concept and not on the materialist concept of species as a
reality in nature, as a definite stage in the development of living
materials, a link in the chain of evolution of living things. Be that as it
may, there are many obvious scientific and practical reasons why one
should be able to identify one’s organisms. Thus, some Pseudornonas
spp. are believed to be the main agents in fish spoilage (see p. 162)
and are apparently encountered in most marine environments. Now, it ie
known that the same species of fish, say cod, caught in the same area
but at different times of the year, or a t the same season of the year but
in different geographical areas, spoil at different rates. Is this related to
differences in the bacterial flora or to other causes? Again, the limited
experience that one of us (J. M. S.) has had in comparing the bacterial
flora of fish from a sub-tropical area off Florida with those from fish
caught in the North Sea and Arctic, indicate that, although the genera
present may be the same, the species are likely to be very different.
Furthermore, if microorganisms are to be as useful indicators of either
hydrological condition or nutritional status of water as Kriss (1963)
suggests, then easier and more definite identification is essential. It WM
the recognition of these and reIated problems that led one of us many
years ago to initiate a programme on the taxonomy of marine bacteria
and to the establishment of the National Collection of Marine Bacteria
at Torry Research Station, Aberdeen (Shewan et al., 1958) where it is
ROBINA B. SCHOLES AND J. M. SHEWAN
encountered on land are as great as those found in their marine counterparts and are no more than a reflection of the environment. In the
present state of our knowledge of bacterial systematics it would be no
more than pragmatic to consider marine types as variants, ecotypes or
races adapted to the specific marine environment.
B. Taxonomic considerations
However, apart from these arguments over definition, it is still
true that most workers in marine microbiology find great difficulty in
identifying their isolates, no matter which determinative key they we.
Whether these differences are real or not they have resulted in the
publication of quite different determinative keys. Three major keys are
available, viz. that of Bergey (Breed et al., 1957), used almost exclusively in U.S.A., Britain and the Commonwealth ; that of Krassilnikov, popular in Russia and East European countries (1959) ; and a
third, by Pr6vot (1961), much used on the Continent, resembling Bergey
but differing in several important respects. The main differences between
Krassilnikov and Bergey is said to concern the fundamental approach
to taxonomy. As we understand it, the difference, as seen by the
Russians, is that Bergey is based on the idealistic notion of species as a
taxonomic concept and not on the materialist concept of species as a
reality in nature, as a definite stage in the development of living
materials, a link in the chain of evolution of living things. Be that as it
may, there are many obvious scientific and practical reasons why one
should be able to identify one’s organisms. Thus, some Pseudornonas
spp. are believed to be the main agents in fish spoilage (see p. 162)
and are apparently encountered in most marine environments. Now, it ie
known that the same species of fish, say cod, caught in the same area
but at different times of the year, or a t the same season of the year but
in different geographical areas, spoil at different rates. Is this related to
differences in the bacterial flora or to other causes? Again, the limited
experience that one of us (J. M. S.) has had in comparing the bacterial
flora of fish from a sub-tropical area off Florida with those from fish
caught in the North Sea and Arctic, indicate that, although the genera
present may be the same, the species are likely to be very different.
Furthermore, if microorganisms are to be as useful indicators of either
hydrological condition or nutritional status of water as Kriss (1963)
suggests, then easier and more definite identification is essential. It WM
the recognition of these and reIated problems that led one of us many
years ago to initiate a programme on the taxonomy of marine bacteria
and to the establishment of the National Collection of Marine Bacteria
at Torry Research Station, Aberdeen (Shewan et al., 1958) where it is