FAMILY II. ACTINOMYCETACEAE 



719 



chmmogenes Jensen, Proc. Linnean Soc. New 

 So. Wales, 56, 1931, 79 and 363; Waksman 

 and Henrici, in Manual, 6th ed., 1948, 897.) 



po.ly.chrom.o'ge.nes. Gr. adj. pobj 

 many; Gr. noun chromus color; Gr.v. gen- 

 naeo to produce; M.L.adj. polychromogenes 

 producing many colors. 



Description taken from Jensen (op. cit., 

 1931). 



Long, wavy filaments, 0.4 to 0.5 by 70 to 

 100 microns, extensively branched but with- 

 out septa. Older cultures consist entirely of 

 rods 4 to 10 microns in length, frequently in 

 V, Y or smaller forms. Still older cultures 

 consist of shorter rods and coccoid forms. 

 Gram-positive, frequently showing bands 

 and granules. 



Gelatin stab: Thin, yellowish growth 

 along the stab with thin, radiating fila- 

 ments. Surface growth flat, wrinkled, red. 

 No liquefaction. 



Nutrient agar: Scant, orange-red growth. 



Glucose agar: After 3 to 4 days, raised, 

 flat, glistening, rose-colored growth. After 

 1 to 3 weeks, becoming folded and coral-red. 



Glucose broth: After 3 to 4 days, turbid; 

 after 2 to 3 weeks an orange, flaky, sediment. 

 No surface growth. 



Milk: Growth starts as small orange- 

 colored surface granules. After 1 to 2 weeks 

 a thick, soft, orange-colored sediment 

 forms. 



Optimum temperature, between 22° and 

 25° C. 



Distinctive characters: Differs from No- 

 cardia corallina in the formation of very long 

 filaments and in filiform growth in gelatin 

 stabs. 



Source : Isolated from the blood of a horse 

 and from soil in France and Australia. 



Habitat: Soil. 



4. Nocardia opaca (den Dooren de 

 Jong, 1927) Waksman and Henrici, 1948. 

 (Mycobacterium opacum den Dooren de 

 Jong, Cent. f. Bakt., II Abt., 71, 1927, 216; 

 Proactinomyces opacus Jensen, Proc. Linn. 

 Soc. New So. Wales, 57, 1932, 369; Waksman 

 and Henrici, in Manual, 6th ed., 1948, 897.) 



o.pa'ca. L.adj. opacus shaded, dark. 



Description taken from Gray and Thorn- 

 ton (Cent. f. Bakt., II Abt., 73, 1928, 86), 



Bynoe (Thesis, McGill University, Mon- 

 treal, 1931), Jensen (op. cit., 1932, 369) and 

 Erikson (Jour. Gen. Microbiol., 3, 1949, 

 363). 



Long, curved, irregular and branching 

 filaments or rods, 0.8 to 1.0 by 2 to 16 mi- 

 crons, or occasionally longer. Few chains or 

 clumps are formed. In older cultures shorter 

 rods or cocci are generally formed. Readily 

 stained. Not acid-fast. Acid-fast cell ele- 

 ments predominate during periods of maxi- 

 mum growth and free air supply (Erikson). 

 Gram-positive. 



Gelatin colonies: Round, convex, whitish, 

 smooth, shining, edges slightly arborescent. 

 Deep colonies: Burrs, with slightly irreg- 

 ular processes. 



Gelatin stab: Convex, whitish, smooth, 

 resinous, filiform, erose. 



Nutrient agar: Soft cream to pink growth 

 (Erikson). 



Synthetic agar: Growth colorless and 

 thin, producing an initial mycelium, the 

 hyphae dividing rapidly into short rods; 

 addition of 0.01 per cent MnS04 stimulates 

 production of pale pink pigment (Erikson). 



Broth: Turbid with broken white scum 

 or clear with granular suspension. 



Dorset's egg medium: Spreading, smooth, 

 moist, salmon-colored growth. 



Loefiler's medium: Scant, smooth, moist, 

 light buff-colored growth. 



Glycerol potato: Dry, rough, crumpled, 

 pink to buff -colored growth. 



Litmus milk: Grayish pellicle; slightly 

 alkaline. 



No acid from sucrose, lactose, maltose or 

 glucose. 



Phenol and naphthalene are utilized as 

 sources of energy. 



Nitrites produced from nitrates. 



Optimum temperature, 30° C. 



Optimum pH, between 6.8 and 7.3. 



Distinctive characters: Differs from No- 

 cardia corallina and Nocardia polychromo- 

 genes in that the cells are much longer than 

 those of the former and much shorter than 

 those of the latter. Grows in smooth convex 

 surface colonies and burr-like deep colonies. 



Source: Twenty-four strains were isolated 

 from soils in Great Britain. 



