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From the soil (permafrost, moraine, penguins' rookery, lake, coast, etc.) collected in the area around Syowa Station, the Antarctica during 1972-1973, 150 strains of Clostridium were isolated and identified according to the VPI manual. 1) C. perfringens (28%), C. sordellii (22%), C. bifermentans (23%), C. sporogenes (4%), C. plagarum (3%), C. paraperfringens (2%), C. septicum (1%) and C. tertium (1%) were the principal species found, but 17% of strains remained unidentified. 2) Soil samples from places where contamination by men and animals is scarce were found to contain Clostridia. 3) Strains of C. sordellii were isolated from samples of many places. Eighty-five percent (85%) of them were obtained from the same soil samples from which strains of C. bifermentans were isolated also. 4) Biological properties of C. sordellii isolated agreed almost completely with those of C. bifermentans except the urease reaction. 5) All strains of Clostridia were isolated from the Antarctic soil could not survive the heating at 80℃ for 10 minutes.

From the soil in the area around Syowa Station, East Ongul Island, Antarctica, 193 strains of clostridia were isolated and identified. It was interesting that many clostridia were contained in the soil samples taken from the places which were considered to be scarcely contaminated by human beings and animals. One hundred and fifty-five strains were assigned to 11 species, and C. perfringens, C. bifermentans and C. sordellii were isolated frequently, while C. sporogenes, C. plagarum, C. paraperfringens, C. septicum, C. tertium, C. cadaveris, C. butyricum and C. felsineum less frequently. The peculiar distribution and characteristics of the clostridia in the Antarctic soil were discussed in comparison with those found in the soil in Japan. 1) C. sordellii and C paraperfringens were never isolated from the soil in Japan. 2) Distribution of aerobes was less extensive than anaerobes in the Antarctic soil. 3) To the tetracycline group among antibiotics tested, the Antarctic strains were more susceptive than the control (Japan) strains.