The suicide phenomenon in motile aeromonads

Certain strains of motile Aeromonas species, including all those of Aeromonas caviae examined, were shown to be suicidal. When they were grown in the presence of glucose at both 30 and 37 degrees C, there was rapid die-off of the organisms after 12 h of incubation, and viable cells generally could not be recovered after 24 h. It was shown that this phenomenon was due to the production of relatively high levels of acetic acid by these strains, even during growth under highly aerobic conditions, and to the greater susceptibility of these strains to acetic acid-mediated death. Suicide did not occur when the pH was maintained above 6.5 or in the presence of high concentration of Pi. These observations were consistent with our inability to isolate suicidal Aeromonas spp. from acidic lakes in New England and with their recovery from alkaline waters in Israel and from sewage. Suicidal aeromonads appear to be better adapted than the nonsuicidal biotypes to anaerobic growth in low-nutrient environments.