| Morphology | Zoogloea ramigera |
| CELLULAR |
| Staining | Gram-negative |
| Morphology | Straight to slightly curved, plump rods, 1.0-1.2 um in diameter and 2.1-3.6 um in length, with rounded ends; sometimes tapered to a blunt point at one or both poles. |
| Motility | Actively motile, especially in young cultures, by means of a single polar flasgellum |
| Specialized structures | Cells in older cultures are demonstrably encapsulated.. Nonsporeforming and noncystforming.. Intracellular granules of poly-B-hydroxy-butyrate are formed on media containing the salts of organic acidsDo not produce poly-B-hydroxybutyrate inclusions. Do not have sheaths or prosthecae. No resting stages known.. |
| Division |
| COLONIAL |
| Solid surface | . Cultures enter into formation of flocs and films in liquid media at late growth stages; the cells become embedded in gelatinous matrices to form zoogloeae, which are distinguished by a "tree-like" or "finger- like" morphology. Young colonies on solid media under a normal air atmosphere are translucent and punctiform but may increase to 1 or 2 mkm in diameter and exhibit opaque centers. Nonpigmented. |
| Liquid |
| Growth Parameters | Zoogloea ramigera |
| PHYSIOLOGICAL |
| Tropism | Chemo-organotrophic. Acid is not formed from carbohydrates except xylose, glycerol and ethanol, which are attacked oxidatively by a few strains |
| Oxygen | Aerobic, having a strictly respiratory type of metabolism with oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor, growth can also occur anaerobically in the presence of nitrate (nitrate respiration). |
| pH | Optimum pH, 7.0-7.5 |
| Temperature | Optimum temperature for growth, 28-37`C |
| Requirements | . Litmus milk is unchanged. Hydrogen sulfide is not usually produced from cysteine. Major carbon sources include salts of several organic acids (e.g. lactate, pyruvate and fumarate), dicarboxylic amino acids (e.g. aspartate, glutamate, and asparagine), alcohols, and salts of certain aromatic acids (e.g. benzoate and m-toluate). Benzene derivatives are attacked by meta cleavage of the ring structure. Organic nitrogen compounds (e.g. dicarboxylic amino acids) and ammonia serve as nitrogen sources; nitrate is unsuitable. Specific growth factor requirements, if any, are unknown. |
| Products | Denitrification occurs with formation of N2 |
| Enzymes | Oxidase-positive. Weakly catalase-positive.. Proteolytic on gelatin. Most strains are urease-positive |
| Unique features |
| ENVIRONMENTAL |
| Habitat | Occur free living in organically polluted fresh waters and in waste waters at all stages of treatment. |
| Lifestyle | |
| Pathogenicity |
| Distribution |
| Genome | Zoogloea ramigera |
| G+C Mol % | 65.3 |
| Reference | Zoogloea ramigera |
| First citation | Itzigsohn, H. (1868) Entwicklungsvorgange von Zoogloea, Oscillaria, Synedra,Staurastrum, Spirotaenia und Chroolepus p 30-31. S. B. Ges. Naturf. Fr. Berlin, 19 Nov. 1967 |
| The Prokaryotes | P |
| Bergey's Systematatic | p 214 R.F. Unz |
| Bergey's Determinative | p 101 |
| References |