THE GENUS NOCARDIA 



20 



T Uil.K .") 



Serological relations of major pathogenic actinomycetes (Gonz&lez Ochoa and Vasquez Boyos, L953 



Pre< ipitin formation 



\ . brasilien X. asteroides S. madurat S. pelletieri S 



"o. 412 No. 1185 No. 1065 ensi No J- : 



sis \«. 417 No. 19 



.1. bovis No. 527 + + 



.V. brasiliensis No. 1 17 + + 



.V. brasiliensis No. 168 + + 



N. mexicana No. 414 + + 



.V. asteroides No. 18 + + 



N. asteroides No. 19 + + 



.V. asteroides No. 20 + + 



N. asteroides X<>. 652 + + 



.V. asteroides No. 69-4 + + 



N. gypsoides No. 9911 + + 



.V. carnea No. 616 + + 



N. leishmanii No. 1030 + + 



S. iniiihinu No. 412 — 



S. pelletieri No. 11S5 - 



S. africana No. 615 — 



*S. somaliensis No. 1065 — 



S. somaliensis No. 1064 — 



jS. somaliensis Xo. 1066 — 



5. paraguayensis No. 285 — 



5. aZ6us No. 693 



5. griseus No. 975 — 



N. lavendulae No. 9963 - 



1 . Color of growth on several synthetic and 



at least one organic medium. 

 _\ Acid production from various carbon 



sources. 

 ;. Heat resistance. 



Size of terminal fragments. 



4. 



.">. St a 



■tie 



»lv 



d-fi 



ft. Diastase formation. 



7. ( 'iclatin liquefaction. 



S. Reduction of nitrate to nitrite. 



!). Coagulation and peptonization of milk. 

 10. Formation of aerial mycelium. 



By utilizing these properties and consider- 

 ing the high degree of similarity, Spalla was 

 able to conclude that three mutants of .V. 

 rugosa belonged to the same species as the 

 parent, and that A', rugosa, X. asteroides, X . 

 rubra, and A', blackwellii represent distind 

 species, with a low degree of similarity. 



A summary of some of the properties of 

 A", rugosa and three of its mutants, as well 

 as of certain other Nocardia species, is given 

 in Table 4. The marked difference between 

 the culture designated as A', gardneri and the 

 other nocardiae may be noted, particularly 

 in utilization of carbon sources, starch hy- 

 drolysis, and formal ion of aerial mycelium. 

 These differences account for the fact that 

 A', gardneri is now recognized as a Strepto- 

 myces and not as a Nocardia. 



Various serological reactions of different 

 species of Streptomyces and Nocardia are 

 given in Table •">. Further information on the 

 relation of Mycobacterium to Nocardia is 

 found in the work of Ilaag (1927) and 

 Cordon ( L937). 



of the various treatments of the genus 



Nocardia, the following three systems of 

 classification of species are presented here: 



