. 4JPARTMENT OF BACTERIOLOGY

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Address Reply to:

NAVAL BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY
NAVAL SUPPLY CENTER
OAKLAND 4, CALIFORNIA

8 November 1950

Dear Joshua,

I had refrained from writing earlier because little had
happened in the research. At last, something can be discussed.

The problem of dissociation in my bug has taken almost
all my time. The dissociation story presented by Werner Braun is
certainly not as simple and straightforward as it would seem. He has
made certain assumptions which while valid are not always applicable.
In Brucella, the correlation between virulence and smoothness as well
as the one between avirulence and roughness will not hold in my bug.
The changes in Liquid suspensions from virulence to avirulence can be
followed by watching the changes from smoothness to roughness, popu-
lationwise. However, with my bug the dissociation from virulence to
avirulence is not correlated with the dissociation from smoothness to
roughness. It is possible for a stored suspension of my bug to go
completely avirulent with only smooth cells (smooth and rough always
refer here to colony morphology and not ankigenic structure) being
present. I am now casting about for quick methods for determining
antigenicity. To date, we are trying acriflavine and salt stability.
It appaers that our current results may solve that problem. But any
other methods (aside from safranin and basic fuchsin agglutinability)
for doing the same job will be greatly appreciated.

Je now have a medium (solid) for detecting dissociants
on the basis of colonial morphology. ‘Since our bug appears to be so
damned stable in storage as far as the S to R dissociation is concerned,
the next job was to induce dissociation. This problem now seems to
be licked. We are using filtrates but the million variables involved
will have to be checked. Adding filtrate to the liquid medium before
inoculation seems to do the trick.

Since sulfa therapy is important, I am checking the genetics
of Bulfa resistance. Even here with a straightforward technique adapted
from the kur Oakberg-Luria work, our bug behaves peculiarly. This story
is taking shape but the picture is too nebulous for discussion at this
date. One thing is sures: any genetic work on my bug will not be simple.

Dr. Krueger has approached me to give your course at Cal.
He figures I took your course and can regurgitate. Shoufld you have
available any mimeographed material for distribution to your classes,
I would certainly appreciate getting a complete sete

Again, let me thank you for the stimulus both from you per-

sonally and from your course. I owe you a debt of gratitude on setting
me straight in this bacterial genetics business.

vy bet hye asic. 22 9 plour