Rhodococcus
SuperSet Prokaryote, Eubacteria, Actinomycetes, Nocardioform Actinomycetes
Compare Actinobispora yunnanensis, Actinokineospora riparia , Actinopolyspora, Amycolata, Amycolatopsis Gordona, Jonesia denitrificans, Kibdelosporangium, Nocardia, Nocardioides,Oerskovia , Promicromonospora Pseudoamycolata halophobica, Pseudonocardia Rhodococcus Saccharomonospora Saccharopolyspora Terrabacter tumescens, Tsukamurella
Contrast Archaea
Subset  

 

Morphology Rhodococcus
CELLULAR  
Staining Gram-positive. Partially acid-alcohol fast at some state of growth.
Morphology Rods to extensively branched substrate mycelium may be formed. In all strains the morphogenetic cycle is initiated with the coccus or short rod state, with different organisms showing a succession of more or less complex morphological stages by which the completion of the growth cycle is achieved. Thus, cocci may merely germinate into short rods, form filaments with side projections, show elementary branching or, in the most differentiated forms, produce extensively branched hyphae. The next generation of cocci or short rods are formed by the fragmentation of the rods, filaments, and hyphae. Some strains produce feeble microscopically visible aerial hyphae, which may be branched, or aerial synnemata consisting of unbranched filaments that coalesce and project upward
Motility nonmotile
Specialized structures neither conidia nor endospores
Division  
COLONIAL  
Solid surface Colonies may be rough, smooth, or mucoid and pigmented buff, cream, yellow, orange, or red, although colourless variants do occur
Liquid  

 

Growth Parameters Rhodococcus
PHYSIOLOGICAL  
Tropism Chemoorganotrophic
Oxygen Aerobic oxidative type of metabolism
pH  
Temperature  
Requirements Most strains grow well on standard laboratory media at 30`C, although some require thiamin. use a wide range of organic compounds as sole sources of carbon for energy and growth
Products unable to degrade casein, cellulose, chitin, elastin, or xylan.
Enzymes Catalase positive arylsulfatase negative,
Unique features . Rhodococci are sensitive to lysozyme The cell wall peptidoglycan contains major amounts of meso-diaminopimelic acid (meso- DAP), arabine, and galactose. The organisms contain diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylinositol mannosides, dehydrogenated manaquinones with either eight or nine isoprene units as the major isprenolog, large amounts of straight-chain, unsaturated,and tuberculostearic acids, and mycolic acids with 32-66 carbons and up to four double bonds. The fatty acid esters released on pyrolysis gas chromatography of mycolic esters contain 12-18 carbons.
ENVIRONMENTAL  
Habitat  
Lifestyle  
Pathogenicity  
Distribution  

 

Genome Rhodococcus
G+C Mol % 63-72% (Tm)
   

 

Reference Rhodococcus
First citation Zopf, W 1889 Uber das Mikrochemische Verhalten Von Fettfarbstoff-haltigen Orgenen. Z. Wiss Mikrosk 6: 172-177
Bergey's systematic cites Zopf, W. (1891)
The Prokaryotes p
Bergey's Systematatic p 1472 M. Goodfellow
Bergey's Determinative p 626
References