Corynebacteria anaerobic

Penicillin Streptococci, staphylococci, corynebacteria, Clostridia, Listeria Anaerobes... 

Fig. 12.29 Reduction-time curves of various Fe oxides by Corynebacteria during anaerobic incubation (Fischer, 1987, with permission).

Anaerobic corynebacteria are also included in the genus Propionibacterium after the pioneering studies of Douglas and Gunter (1946). They were transferred from the genus Corynebacterium since they are ... 

Cutaneous propionibacteria are also known as anaerobic coryneforms or anaerobic diphtheroids. Initially, 12 species of anaerobic corynebacteria were described (Prevot and Fredette, 1966), but later, when some 80 strains had been evaluated for their cell wall composition and DNA homology (Johnson and Cummins, 1972), the number of species was reduced to three, namely, P. acnes, P. granulosum and P. avidum. Cutaneous propionibacteria are not restricted to the normal skin surface. They can be isolated from facial blackheads, less frequently from stomach contents, wounds, bone marrow, blood, and tissue abscesses. Thus, classical and cutaneous propionibacteria differ principally by their typical natural habitats. 

At the same time, some anaerobic corynebacteria also produce propionic acid, have a high G+C content, but are different from propionibacteria in their lipid composition and cell walls they do not contain significant amounts of C15 branched-chain fatty acids in their membrane lipids, whereas their cell walls contain arabinogalactan and mycolic acids, absent from propionibacteria. 

Reticulostimulin (RS). It was shown (Prevot, 1975) that aerobic corynebacteria do not synthesize RS, which is produced only by anaerobic forms, if they are not lysogenic. Stimulation of the RES by RS is accompanied by the stimulation of synthesis of several serum proteins, i.e. proceeds on the basis of natural RES defenses (nonspecific immunity) by both cellular and humoral mechanisms. 

Table 7.7. Chemotactic activities of anaerobic corynebacteria and propionibacteria for guinea-pig peritoneal macrophages ...

On the other hand, the boundaries of the genus were extended by including four species of anaerobic corynebacteria that inhabit human skin. Using the methods of traditional, numerical and molecular taxonomy, anaerobic corynebacteria were shown to be different from the other members of the genus Corynebacterium by a number of essential characteristics and to have genomic similarities with propionic acid bacteria. The anaerobic corynebacteria have been reclassified as P. acnes, P. avidum, P. granulosum and P. lymphophilum and are called cutaneous propionibacteria now. 

Prevot A-R (1975) Bacteriological aspects of anaerobic corynebacteria in relation to RES stimulation. In Halpem B (ed) Corynebacterium parvum. Apphcations in Experimental and Clinical Oncology, pp 3-10. Plenum Press, New York Prevot A-R (1976) New concept of the taxonomic position of anaerobic corynebacteria. C R Acad Sci Hebd Seances Acad Sci D 282 1079-1081 Prevot A-R and Fredette V (1966) Manual for the classification and determination of the anaerobic bacteria, pp 345-355. Lea Febiger, Philadelphia Prevot A-R and Thouvenot H (1961) Essai de lysotypie des Corynebacterium anaerobies. 

A -Acetylmuramyldipeptide (A-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-wo-glutamine) is the smallest adjuvant-active unit of the cell-wall peptidoglycan of bacteria e.g. norcardia, corynebacteria, and anaerobic coryneforms) in the immune system of guinea pigs, but it is not mitogenic in the normal spleen cells of mice. The cell... 

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