BORRELO\n'CETACEAE 1291 



I. THE PLEUROPNEUMONIA GROUP. 



(Borrclomijcetacene Turner, Jour. Path, and Bact., 4^ , 1035, 25; Pnrasitnceac Sabin, 



Bact. Rev., 5, 1041, 58.) 



The organisms are soft and fragile. Without special precautions the}' are often 

 distorted or entireh' destroyed in microscopical preparations. The cultures contain 

 pleomorphic elements: Small granules, bacilli, bacillary filaments and round forms 

 varying in size from a few tenths of a micron to 10 microns or more. Autolyzed round 

 forms may coalesce into large empty blebs. The round forms are part of a reproductive 

 cycle. They are produced by the swelling of the bacillary forms and filaments and 

 reproduce granules or filaments by inside segmentation or multiple germination. 

 In freshly isolated bovine strains, the filaments show apparent or true branching and 

 reproduce the small forms by segmentation. The smallest growing units may not be 

 larger than .15 to .28 micron and pass through filters that retain bacteria. On agar, 

 tiny colonies (0.1 to 0.6 mm) develop in great numbers. The colonies invade the agar 

 and after 2 to 5 days growth have an opaque center embedded in the agar and a thin 

 peripheral zone. The surface has a rugged or granular appearance due to the develop- 

 ment and autolysis of the large forms. After a few days growth, the cultures usualy 

 show pronounced autolysis. The parasitic strains require fresh animal serum for 

 growth. There is a single genus. 



Genus I. Asterococcus Barrel et al. 



(Borrel, Dujardin-Beaumetz, Jeantet and Jouan, Ann. Inst. Past., 2^, 1910, 179; 

 Coccobacillus Martzinovski, Ann. Inst. Past., 35, 1911, 91 ; Microtnyces Frosch, Arch, 

 f. wissensch. u. prakt. Tierheilk., 49, 1923, 35 and 273; not Micromyces Dangeard, Le 

 Botaniste, 1, 1888, 55; Mycoplasma Nowak, Ann. Inst. Past., 43, 1929, 1349; Aster- 

 omyces Wroblewski, Ann. Inst. Past., 47, 1931, 105; Borrelomyces Turner, Jour. Path, 

 and Bact., 4^ > 1935, 25; Bovimyces Sabin, Bact. Rev., 5, 1941, 57.) 



Characters as for the family. 



The type species is Asterococcus mycoides Borrel et al. 



1 . Asterococcus mycoides Borrel et al . agar cultures correspond with the descrip- 



(Le microbe de la peripneumonia, Nocard tion given for the group, 



and Roux, Ann. Inst. Past., 12, 1898, 240; Broth cultures are slightly opalescent 



Borrel, Dujardin-Beaumetz, Jeantet and and, upon shaking, the cultures of fresh 



Jouan, Ann. Inst. Past., 24, 1910, 168; strains exhibit silk-like whorls, due to 



Coccobacillus mycoides periyneumoniae the presence of long chains and filaments. 



Martzinovski, Ann. Inst. Past., 25, 1911, The cultures after prolonged incubation 



914; Micromyces peripneumoniae bonis consist of small granules, 



con/agffosae Frosch, Arch. f. wissensch. u. Biochemical activity: Old colonies on 



prakt. Tierheilk., 49, 1923, 35 and 273; serum agar develop a brownish color. 



Mycoplasma peripneumoniae Nowak, Freshly isolated strains reduce hemo- 



Ann. Inst. Past., 4S, 1929, 1530; Astero- globin. Glucose, fructose, mannose, mal- 



myces peripneumoniae bovis Wroblewski, tose, and dextrin are fermented with the 



Ann. Inst. Past., ^7, 1931, 94; Borrelo- production of acid but no gas. The cul- 



niyces peripneumoniae Turner, Jour. tures are bile soluble. 



Path. Bact., 4-', 1935, 1 ; Boyimyces piei/- The strains isolated from cattle are 



ropneumoniae Sabin, Bact. Rev., 5, 1941, homogeneous in serological reactions and 



57.) distinct from the other members of the 



Morphologj' of cells and appearance of group. 



