Mycobacterium farcinogenes
Mycobacterium farcinogenes is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Although slow-growing, it is similar to fast-growing species, and is usually classified with them.
Description
Gram-positive, nonmotile and strongly acid-fast rods. Short or long filaments, bent and branched, in clumps or tangled, lacy network.Colony characteristics
Rough, yellow and convoluted colonies. Firmly adherent to medium and surrounded by an iridescent halo.
Physiology
- Slow growth after 15–20 days on Löwenstein-Jensen medium.
- On the basis of characteristic lipids this species belongs to the genus Mycobacterium and not to the genus Nocardia.
- DNA homology to the closely related species Mycobacterium senegalense. Both species, share an identical 5' 16S rDNA sequence. However, the ITS sequences are different.
Pathogenesis
- Causes farcy in African cattle.
- Distinctive pathogenicity for guinea pigs: on subcutaneous inoculation, M. farcinogenes produces draining and slow healing abscesses after 8 days.