Hubert A. Lechevalier

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AS A CRITERION IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF AEROBIC ACTINOMYCETES

ABSTRACT The information concerning the main components found in cell wall preparations and whole-cell hydrolysates of some 600 strains of aerobic actinomy-cetes is reviewed. The results show that whole-cell sugar patterns can usually be used to predict cell wall composition and that the combination of both criteria permit separation of aerobic actinomycetes into 10 taxonomically useful groups.

Chemotaxonomy of aerobic Actinomycetes: Phospholipid composition

Abstract A survey of the phospholipid composition of 97 strains representing 20 genera of the Actinomycetales showed that five groups could be distinguished on the basis of the presence or absence of certain nitrogenous phospholipids. Phospholipid type PI (no nitrogenous phospholipids) is characteristic of the genera Actinomadura (madurae, pelletieri).Corynebacterium, Microtetraspora and Nocardioides. Actinomycetes of Type PII contain only one nitrogenous phospholipid, phosphatidyl ethanolamine. These include members of the genera Actinoplanes, Chainia, Dactylosporangium, Microellobosporia, Micromonospora, Micropolyspora (brevicatena), Mycobacterium, Nocardia (all species examined but autotrophica), Streptomyces and Streptoverticillium. Phospholipid pattern type PIII (characteristic phospholipid, phosphatidyl choline) was found in Actinomadura (dassonvillei). Micropolyspora (faeni), Nocardia (autotrophica), and Pseudonocardia. Actinomycetes having a type P IV pattern contain an unknown, previously undescribed phospholipid containing glucosamine (GluNU) which was found to be characteristic of members of the genera Intrasporangium, Microbispora and Streptosporangium. Actinomycetes of type PV contain phosphatidyl glycerol in addition to GluNU and include members of the genera Promicromonospora and Oerskovia. Other phospholipids found variably in all groups included phosphatidyl inositol, phosphatidyl inositol mannosides, phosphatidyl methylethanolamine, acyl phosphatidyl glycerol (APG) and diphosphatidyl glycerol (DPG). The fatty acids present in DPG (or APG when DPG was absent) may be species-specific. The chemical heterogeneity of the genera Actinomadura, Corynebacterium, Micropolyspora and Nocardia is discussed.

Nocardia amarae sp. nov., an Actinomycete Common in Foaming Activated Sludge

One hundred and seven strains of nocardiae have been isolated from samples of activated sludge or from foam forming on activated sludge coming from 10 sewage-treatment plants in five states. Thirty-five of these strains belong to a previously undescribed species containing a novel type of nocardomycolic acid whose α branch is mono-unsaturated. The name proposed for this new species is Nocardia amarae. The type strain is IMRU W3960 (= ATCC 27808).

Chemical Composition as a Criterion in the Classification of Actinomycetes

Publisher Summary The chapter describes chemical composition as a criterion in the classification of actinomycetes. It gives an overview of the chemical classification of higher plants, algae and protozoa, fungi and lichens, viruses, and bacteria. The role of pigments in the classification of actinomycetes has been discussed in detail in the chapter. It is a fact that similar actiiiomycetes tend to have a similar color. This is exploited mainly in the lassification of streptomycetes, where one can recognize: (1) the production of diffusible pigments, (2) the color of the aerial mycelium, and ( 3 ) the color of substrate mycelium. The importance of antibiotics in the classification of actiiiomycetes is also described. H. A. Lechevalier and Lechevalier (1970) and Prauser (1970) recently proposed two tentative schemes of classification of actinomycetes that are based on morphology and chemical composition. These schemes are discussed briefly in the chapter.

Candicidin, A New Antifungal Antibiotic

A group of 197 cultures of actinomycetes were tested for their antibiotic activity against Cerastostomella ulmi. This screening program yielded a strain of Streptomyces griseus which produced an an...

New Genus of the Actinomycetales: Actinosynnema gen. nov.

An aerobic species of a new genus, Actinosynnema, is described under the name A. mirum sp. nov. The type strain of A. mirum is strain Hasegawa 101 (= IMRU 3971). The new genus is characterized by the formation of synnemata originating from the substrate mycelium. At the tip of the synnemata, chains of zoospores are produced.

Production of the same antibiotics by members of different genera of microorganisms.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the production of antibiotics by organisms that are very different one from another. It presents a list of antibiotics whose producing organisms have a good chance, of having been properly identified as very different organisms. 3’-Amino-Y-deoxyadenosine is an antitumor agent with slight activity against a few yeasts, which has been found to be produced by a species of Helminthosporium, Cordyceps militaris, and Aspergillus nidulans. Prodigiosin is a tripyrrolic red antibiotic pigment characteristic of Serratia marcescens, which is active against bacteria, mainly gram-positive, and has a few antifungal and antiprotozoal activity. Iodinin was first reported as an antibiotic pigment from a bacterium isolated from milk. Questiomycin A was isolated from the culture filtrates of a species of Streptomyces. Fumigacin, first isolated in 1942, is an antibacterial substance which is produced by Aspergillus fumigatus, Cephalosporium mycophylum, and Streptomyces reticuli. The chapter concludes that the more closely related organisms are, the more likely they are to produce the same secondary metabolites.

Comparison of the chemical composition of cell-walls of nocardiae with that of other aerobic actinomycetes

ABSTRACT Analyses of cell-wall preparations from more than 230 aerobic actinomycetes representing most of the morphological types among those forming well developed mycelia (euactinomycetes) reveal that cell-wall preparations from all actinomycetes contain glucosamine, muramic acid, glutamic acid, and alanine as major constituents. In addition, the broad group of the streptomycetes, including the pathogenic S. somaliensis, contain major amounts of glycine and L-diaminopimelic acid. Preparations from micromonosporae contain glycine and meso-diaminopi-melic acid and those from members of the family Actinoplanaceae contain meso-diami-nopimelic acid with or without glycine. Preparations from strains of Dermatophilus, Thermoactinomyces, Microbispora and nocardiae of the madurae-pelletieri type contain meso-diaminopimelic acid. Preparations from strains of The rmomonospora, Micropolyspora, Pseudonocardia and nocardiae of the farcinica-asteroides type contain meso-diaminopimelic acid, arabinose and galactose. The genus Nocardia is not considered homogeneous with respect to the cell-wall composition of its members. Further studies will undoubtedly show the value of splitting that genus into two groups, but this must await the development of simple and reliable methods for differentiation.

A New Genus of the Actinomycetales: Microellobosporia gen.nov.

SUMMARY: Two aerobic mesophilic species of a new genus belonging to the family Actinoplanaceae are described under the name Microellobosporia (M. cinerea type species). The new genus is characterized by the production of small club-shaped sporangia on the aerial mycelium. Similar stuctures are also formed on the substrate mycelium. The non-motile sporangiospores are few in number and arranged in a single straight row inside the sporangium.

A new genus of the actinomycetales: Waksmania gen. nov.

SUMMARY: A single mesophilic species of a new genus belonging to the family Streptomycetaceae of the order Actinomycetales is described and has been named Waksmania (W. rosea, type species). It produces a filamentous growth which is differentiated into vegetative (primary) mycelium and aerial (secondary) mycelium. Hyphae are 1·5μ. or less in diameter. The new genus is characterized by the production of pairs of spores which are formed either: (1) at the tip of sporophores which branch from an aerially borne hypha; or (2) directly on an aerial hypha. Spores are not formed on the vegetative mycelium.