712 



ORDER V. ACTINOMYCETALES 



Note: Krassilnikov (Guide to the Bac- 

 teria and Actinomycetes, Izd. Akad. Nauk, 

 U.S.S.R., Moskau, 1949, 123) states that 

 probably a considerable number of previ- 

 ously described species placed in the genus 

 Micrococcus really belong in the genus My- 

 cococcus as he has described it. Inasmuch as 

 Hucker (personal communication, 1955) has 

 always felt that the two species of red micro- 

 cocci recognized by him (Hucker, N. Y. 

 State Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull. 135, 1938, 33 pp.) 

 as Micrococcus cinnabar eus Fliigge and as M. 

 rhodochrous Migula were not typical micro- 

 cocci, further studies of cultures of these 

 coral-red to cinnabar-red species have been 

 made by Dr. Ruth Gordon and by Dr. A. G. 

 Lochhead. These investigators are in agree- 

 ment that these species may well be myco- 

 cocci or nocardias. For this reason the 

 descriptions of the two species under consid- 

 eration have been removed from the section 

 in which micrococci are described and are 

 given in this note. It is of interest in this 

 connection that Hucker (N. Y. State Exp. 

 Sta. Tech. Bull. 102, 1924, 26) lists nearly a 

 dozen named and described (sometimes very 

 poorly) species of red micrococci that may 

 be identical with one or the other of the two 

 species described below. 



1. Micrococcus cinnabareus Fliigge, 

 1886. (Die Mikroorganismen, 2 Aufl., 1886, 

 174.) 



cin.na.ba're.us. Gr. noun cinnahari cin- 

 nabar, vermilion; M.L. adj. cinnabareus of 

 the color of vermilion. 



Spheres, 1.0 micron in diameter, occur- 

 ring singly and in pairs. Non-motile. 

 Gram-variable. 



Gelatin colonies: Small, circular, bright 

 red, becoming cinnabar-red. 



Gelatin stab: Thick, raised, rose- to cin- 

 nabar-red growth on surface. No liquefac- 

 tion. White colonies along stab. 



Agar slant: A carmine-red streak. Slow 

 growth. 



Broth: Turbid. 



Litmus milk: Slightly alkaline to slightly 

 acid. 



Potato: Slowl}^ developing vermilion- 

 red streak. 



Indole not produced. 



Small amount of acid from sugars. 



Starch not hydrolyzed. 



Nitrites produced from nitrates. 



Does not utilize NH4H2PO4 as a source 

 of nitrogen. 



Aerobic. 



Optimum temperature, 25° C. 



Saprophytic. 



Source: Found as contamination of cul- 

 tures. 



Habitat: Usually found as a dust con- 

 tamination. 



2. Micrococcus rhodochrous (Zopf, 

 1891) Migula, 1900. (Rhodococcus rhodochrous 

 Zopf, Berichte d. deutsch. bot. Gesellsch., 

 9, 1891, 22; Migula, Syst. d. Bakt., 2, 1900, 

 162.) 



rho.do'chro.us. Gr. noun rhodum the 

 rose; Gr. noun chroa color, complexion; 

 M.L. adj. rhodochrous rose-colored. 



Spheres, 0.5 to 1.0 micron in diameter, 

 occurring singly. Non-motile. Gram-vari- 

 able. 



Gelatin colonies: Small, circular, glisten- 

 ing, raised, entire, dark, reddish brown. 



Gelatin stab: Dark, carmine-red, dry sur- 

 face growth. Slight growth in stab. No liq- 

 uefaction. 



Agar slant: Carmine-red streak, becom- 

 ing brick-red in color. 



Broth: Thick, rose-red pellicle with red, 

 flocculent sediment. 



Litmus milk: Slightl}^ alkaline. 



Potato: Carmine-red streak. 



Acid from glucose. No acid from lactose, 

 sucrose, glycerol or mannitol (Hucker, 

 1923, retest of original culture). 



Nitrites produced from nitrates (Hucker, 

 1923, retest of original culture). 



Aerobic. 



Optimum temperature, 25° C. 



Saprophytic. 



Comments: In the description of this or- 

 ganism given by Migula, which is taken from 

 Zopf's original description, emphasis is laid 

 on the arrangement of the cells in tetrads or 

 occasionallj' as diplococci. Mention is made 

 of short chains, but again emphasis is laid 

 on the fact that these are not formed by 

 division in planes parallel with each other, 

 as are the chains of streptococci, but rather 

 by an accidental rearrangement of tetrads, 

 the cells dividing in two planes perpendicu- 



