Capsule-Producing Coryneform Bacteria Associated with Stickiness in Cotton

Abstract

Sticky cotton samples received at the Textile Research Center of Texas Tech University for processing had a significantly higher proportion of white colonies (many of which were coryneform bacteria) than non-sticky cotton samples, al though the same kinds of organisms were present on both kinds of cottons. Four representative strains of coryneform bacteria were isolated from samples of both sticky and non-sticky cotton and examined for their ability to produce extracellular carbohydrates. When grown on thioglycollate agar, two of the strains produced copious amounts of extracellular polysaccharide in the form of a capsule. All four strains produced this material when they were grown in a liquid medium. Paper chromatography of the hydrolyzed capsular material revealed the presence of both glucose and galactose, and both glucose and galactose were present in hydrolyzed extracts of sticky cotton. Since previous investigators found carbohydrates were associated with stickiness in cotton, it is possible that capsule-forming coryneform bacteria contribute to stickiness when they constitute a significant proportion of the bacteria present on cotton.

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