SPECIES OF NOCARDIA 143 



16. Nocardia rubropertincta (Hefferan) Waksman and Henrici. 

 (Grassberger, R., Miinch. Med. Wochschr., 46, 1899, 343; Hefferan, M. 

 Centrbl. Bakt., II, 11, 1904, 460.) 



Mycelium: Small rods 0.3-0.9 by 1.5-3.0 n. Cells in 18-24 hour agar 

 culture in beautiful angular arrangement, after 2-3 days nearly coccoid, 

 0.6 by 0.8 n. Tendency for branching on glycerol agar after 2-3 days, but 

 branching does not occur commonly, though granules of aerial mycelium 

 are sometimes seen (Jensen). Not acid -fast (Grassberger). Acid-fast (Hef- 

 feran). Variable (Jensen). Nonmotile. Gram-positive. 



Nutrient agar: Small granular colonies becoming pink to red depending 

 on composition of agar. Slant: Dry, lusterless (R) to glistening (S), pink to 

 vermillion-red. 



Potato: Slow but excellent intensive red growth becoming dull orange 

 (Jensen) . 



Gelatin : Irregular colonies with crenate margin and folded surface. Coral- 

 red. Growth in stab at first thin, then granular to arborescent with chromo- 

 genesis. No liquefaction. 



Milk: Thick, fragile, dull coral-red surface scales and sediment. Un- 

 changed (Hefferan) to alkaline and somewhat viscid after 3-4 weeks 

 (Jensen) . 



Nutrient broth: Faint uniform turbidity with salmon-pink pellicle (in 

 scales) which is renewed on surface as it settles to form a red sediment 

 (Hefferan, Jensen). 



Nitrate: No reduction to nitrite. Nitrates, ammonia, and asparagine 

 are almost as good sources of nitrogen as peptone (Jensen). 



Temperature: Grows well between 20° and 37°C (Jensen). 



Aerobic to facultative anaerobe. 



Source: Six cultures isolated from butter. Several cultures isolated from 

 soil in Holland and Australia. Two cultures as contaminants in tuberculin 

 flasks. 



Remarks: Mycobacterium-hke colonies with coral to vermillion-red chro- 

 mogenesis on asparagine agar, potato, gelatin, and other media. Short rods, 

 seldom forms filaments. Generally not acid-fast. 



Benzine, petroleum, paraffin oil, and paraffin are utilized as sources of 

 energy. No action on manganese dioxide (Sohngen, N. L., Centrbl. Bakt. 

 11,40, 1914, 554). 



17. Nocardia rubra (Krassilnikov) comb. nov. (Krassilnikov, N. A., 

 Actinomycetales, Akad. Nauk. USSR, Moskau, 1941, 81.) 



Vegetative growth: Threads at first filamentous, developing into a uni- 

 cellular mycelium ; after a few days, frequent septae are produced and the 

 mycelium breaks up into short, rod-shaped, and later coccoid elements. 



