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Corynebacterium

Actinobacteria

Actinobacteria

Corynebacteriales

  1. Kathryn A. Bernard1,
  2. Guido Funke2

Published Online: 18 MAR 2015

DOI: 10.1002/9781118960608.gbm00026

Book Title

Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria

Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria

Additional Information

How to Cite

Bernard, K. A. and Funke, G. 2015. Corynebacterium. Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria. 1–70.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

  2. 2

    Gärtner & Colleagues Laboratories, Department of Medical Microbiology & Hygiene, Ravensburg, Germany

  1. †

    Lehmann and Neumann §, 350AL emend. Bernard, Wiebe, Burdz, Reimer, Ng, Singh, Schindle and Pacheco , 877

  2. ‡

    Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., in association with Bergey's Manual Trust.

Publication History

  1. Published Online: 18 MAR 2015
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Abstract

Co.ry.ne.bac.te'ri.um. Gr. n. coryne a club; L. neut. n. bacterium a rod, and in biology a bacterium (so called because the first ones observed were rod-shaped); N.L. neut. n. Corynebacterium a club bacterium.

Actinobacteria / Actinobacteria / Corynebacteriales / Corynebacteriaceae / Corynebacterium

Straight to slightly curved rods with tapered ends. Rods are usually short or of medium length. Club-shaped forms may be observed; sometimes ellipsoidal, ovoid or rarely, “whip handles” (see below, Corynebacterium matruchotii) or thinner rods with bulges (see below, Corynebacterium sundsvallense) observed. Snapping division produces angular and palisade arrangements of cells. Gram-stain-positive; some cells stain unevenly. Metachromatic (synonym being polyphosphate) granules may be observed for some species. Not-acid-fast (Ziehl–Neelsen stain), and no species has aerial mycelium. Nonsporeforming. All species are nonmotile. All species are catalase positive. All species are oxidase negative except for Corynebacterium bovis, Corynebacterium aurimucosum, Corynebacterium doosanense, and Corynebacterium maris (below). Many species are facultatively anaerobic and some are aerobic. Chemoorganotrophs. Some species are lipophilic. Many species produce acid from glucose and some other sugars in peptone media. Several species alkalinize citrate as sole carbon sources, but most do not.

DNA G+C content (mol%): 46–74.

Type species: Corynebacterium diphtheriae (Kruse 1886) Lehmann and Neumann 1896, 350 (“Bacillus diphtheria” Kruse in Flügge 1886, 225).

Keywords:

  • Corynebacterium;
  • Corynebacterium diphtheriae;
  • Corynebacteriaceae
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