Cross Index Actinomyces
SuperSet Prokaryote, Eubacteria, Irregular, Nonsporing Gram-Positive Rods
Compare Acetobacterium Acetogenium kivui, Actinomyces Aeromicrobium, erythreum Agromyces ramosus Arachnia propionica, Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, Arthrobacter, Aureobacterium, Bifidobacterium, Brachybacterium faecium, Brevibacterium, Butyrivibrio, Caseobacter polymorphus, Cellulomonas ,Clavibacter, Coriobacterium glomerans, Corynebacterium, Curtobacterium, Dermobacter hominus, Eubacterium, Exigouibacterium aurantiacum, Falcivibrio, Gardnerella, Jonsia denitrificans, Lachnospira multiparus, Microbacterium, Mobiluncus, Pimelobacter, Proprionibacterium, Rarobacter faecitabidus , Rothia dentocariosa, Rubrobacter radiotolerans, Sphaerobacter thermophilus , Terrabacter tumescens, Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus, Thermoanaerobium brockii
Contrast Archaea
Subset  

 

Morphology Actinomyces
CELLULAR  
Staining Gram positive but stain irregularly not acid fast
Morphology form straight or slightly curved rods and slender filaments with true branching. Short rods with or without clubbed ends may occur singly in pairs with diptheroid arrangements in short chains or in small clulsters. Filaments are either straight or wavy with varying degress of branching and may have swollen, clubbed or clavate ends.
Motility nonmotile
Specialized structures non spore forming
Division  
COLONIAL  
Solid surface They often produce filamentous microcolonies but mature colonies are either rough and dry to crumbly or smooth and soft to mucoid. Most colonies are white to grey white or creamy white but A . odontolyticuys forms a deep red colony on blood agar and A. denticolens forms pink colonies
Liquid  

 

Growth Parameters Actinomyces
PHYSIOLOGICAL  
Tropism hemoorganotrophs
Oxygen facultative anaerobes ermentative metabolism
pH  
Temperature Optimum or growth is 35-37 C.
Requirements require carbon dioxide for maximum growth. . Organic nitrogen is required for growth
Products formic, acetic, lactic and succinic but not propionic acid are the end products of glucose fermentation Indole is not produced
Enzymes  
Unique features Amino acids of the cell wall peptidoglycan are lysine. Ornithine or aspartic acid may or may not be present. Diaminopimelic acid and glycine are absent.
ENVIRONMENTAL  
Habitat  
Lifestyle  
Pathogenicity  
Distribution  

 

Genome Actinomyces
G+C Mol %  
   

 

Reference Actinomyces
First citation Harz,C.O. 1877. Actinomyces bovis, ein neuer Schimmel in den Geweben des Rindes. Jahresber. K. Zentralbl. Thierarz. Sch. Munchen Fur 1877/1878,5:125-140
The Prokaryotes P
Bergey's Systematatic p 1383 K. P. Schaal
Bergey's Determinative p 571
References