Studies on Actinomycetes and Their Odors

Abstract

This article presents a study on the characterization of the odoriferous materials produced by actinomycetes, and evaluates the effectiveness of various treatment procedures. Pure cultures of S. griseoluteus 1M 3718, a typical odor‐producing actinomycete, were grown in liquid medium and their metabolites fractionated to recover concentrates of the odoriferous materials produced. The resulting concentrates showed high odor intensities with threshold numbers in the billions. Odors typical of those observed under pure culture conditions were also demonstrated in soil samples which had been supplemented with spore suspensions of S. griseoluteus 1M 3718. Percolation of water through the samples showed that considerable quantities of the odoriferous materials were readily washed from the soils. Such observations substantiate the assumption of earlier investigators, that odor‐producing agents of an earthy nature could be carried into potable water supplies from surrounding environments.