actinomyces

Waksman wrote in his autobiography: " … It is the first attempt that has ever been made to grow an actinomyces on a large scale, to attempt to utilize an actinomyces for any practical purpose, or even to find any use whatsoever for this obscure group of micro-organisms." Unfortunately, the initial excitement did not last long: actinomycin certainly killed the pathogens, but it killed laboratory animals too. Woodruff pressed on …