Beijerinck and the bioluminescent bacteria

Microbiological experiments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Journal article (2011)

Authors

L.A. Robertson BT/Afdelingsbureau - AS
MJ Figge CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre
PV Dunlap External organisation
Research Group
BT/Afdelingsbureau (AS) (TU Delft)
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Published Date

2011

Language

Dutch

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Applied Sciences

Department

BT/Biotechnologie

Research Group

BT/Afdelingsbureau

Abstract

Microbiological research in the days before specialized equipment, or even
electricity, required a great deal of ingenuity. The revival of 90-year-old bioluminescent
bacteria from Beijerinck’s laboratory in Delft prompted a review of his
work with these microorganisms and revealed their use in simple techniques for
the investigation of, among other things, sugar metabolism in yeasts, oxygen
generation and uptake and even the survival of microorganisms in liquid
hydrogen. He used variant strains of bioluminescent bacteria in an attempt to
study heredity and variation in biological systems and described one of the earliest
examples of enzyme induction