METABIOTIC ASSOCIATION BETWEEN NONPROTEOLYTIC CLOSTRIDIUM-BOTULINUM TYPE-B AND FOODBORNE BACILLUS SPECIES

Spores of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum type B were inoculated into an aerobic nutrient medium together with vegetative cells of one of twelve strains of foodborne Bacillus. After incubation for 14 d at 30 degrees C, C. botulinum toxin was detected in samples inoculated w ith non-proteolytic C. botulinum and each of the Bacillus strains, but not in aerobic medium inoculated with either C. botulinum alone or on e of the Bacillus strains. This metabiotic effect of foodhorne Bacillu s species on G. botulinum could be due to consumption of oxygen by the Bacillus spp. and a lowering of the redox potential, thereby creating conditions favourable for growth of, and toxin production by C. botul inum.