| Cross Index | Leucothrix mucor |
| SuperSet | Prokaryote, Eubacteria Gliding Bacteria |
| Compare | Cytophagales, Beggiatoales Single
Celled, rod shaped Capnocytophaga,
Chitinophaga
pinensis , Cytophaga, Flexibacter,
Flexithrix dorotheae,
Lysobacter,
Microscilla,
Sporocytophaga
myxococcoides, Thermomena, The organism morphologically resembles some filamentous Cyanobacteria or Oxygenic Phototrophic Bacteria but does not form photosynthetic pigments |
| Contrast | Archaea |
| Subset |
| Morphology | Leucothrix mucor |
| CELLULAR |
| Staining | |
| Morphology | Long filaments composed of short cylindrical or ovoid cells (gonidia), cross-walls clearly visible, colourless, unbranched; typically uniform filaments may taper from base to apex, under some conditions showing an apical beady chain of gonidia connected end to end |
| Motility | Filaments do not glide but may wave sporadically from side to side gonidia often but not always show jerky gliding motion on solid substrates. |
| Specialized structures | . In nature, filaments usually attached to solid substrates by means of inconspicuous holdfasts; stalks absent.. Dispersal by means of gonidia (single cells arising from cells of the filaments by rounding up, often released primarily from apices, but they may also be formed in an intercalary fashion); Rosette formation is a key diagnostic characteristic of the genus but is found rarely in nature, although it is frequently seen in a laboratory culture. The rosettes may be formed of gonidia or, after gonidial growth, of several or more filaments attached at their bases. Filaments in a laboratory culture often form true knots; these structures also occur in nature, although rarely. The organism morphologically resembles some filamentous cyanobacteria but does not form photosynthetic pigments |
| Division |
| COLONIAL |
| Solid surface | forming visible colonies within 1-2 weeks |
| Liquid |
| Growth Parameters | Leucothrix mucor |
| PHYSIOLOGICAL |
| Tropism | heterotrophic. |
| Oxygen | Strictly aerobic |
| pH | |
| Temperature | Optimum temperature: 25`C; maximum: 30-35`C; minimum: 0`C, Strains from tropical waters are more stenothermal ie do, not grow below 15`C. |
| Requirements | Most strains require NaCl for growth; optimum concentration: about 1.5% NaCl; grows at concentrations of 0.3-6.0% NaCl. Most strains do not require growth factors. |
| Products | |
| Enzymes | Catalase- positive |
| Unique features |
| ENVIRONMENTAL |
| Habitat | Aquatic; usually marine, although one freshwater strain has been isolated |
| Lifestyle | |
| Pathogenicity |
| Distribution |
| Genome | Leucothrix mucor |
| G+C Mol % | 46-51 |
| (Brock and Mandel 1966; Kelly and Brock 1969a). |
| Reference | Leucothrix mucor |
| First citation | Oersted,A.S. 1844 De regionibus Marinis. Elements Topographiae Historiconaturalis Freti Oeresund. Inaug. Diss. J. C. Scharling, Copenhagen |
| The Prokaryotes | |
| Bergey's Systematatic | p 2121 T. D. Brock |
| Bergey's Determinative | p 497 |
| References |