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J Bacteriol. 1961 October; 82(4): 517-527
Copyright ©, 1961, The Williams & Wilkins Company. All Rights Reserved.

BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL STUDIES ON MYCOBACTERIA

Relationship of Colony Morphology to Mycoside Content for Mycobacterium kansasii and Mycobacterium fortuitum

Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
H. M. Randall Laboratory of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

ABSTRACT

FREGNAN, G. B. (University of Wisconsin, Madison), D. W. SMITH, AND H. M. RANDALL. Biological and chemical studies on mycobacteria. Relationship of colony morphology to mycoside content for Mycobacterium kansasii and Mycobacterium fortuitum. J. Bacteriol. 82:517–527. 1961.—Using a suitable technique and an adequate medium it was possible to show a unique and uniform type of colony characteristic for Mycobacterium kansasii (photochromogen) and for Mycobacterium fortuitum strains freshly isolated either from patients, or from the soil, or kept in our stock culture collection for several years. New symbols have been proposed to represent these colony types. It was demonstrated that colony morphology is closely related to the specific mycoside present in a given strain; for example, M. kansasii strains showed in each instance colony type K and mycoside A, and M. fortuitum strains showed colony type F and mycoside F. Attention is called to the importance of the technique and the medium used.

No change in colony morphology resulted from incubation in the presence of air containing 5 to 10% CO₂, although this improved growth. Better growth of mycobacteria occurred in the presence of glycerol, or lipids of a human strain of mycobacteria, or sodium bicarbonate, but the specificity of colony form was lost.

¹ Present address: Istituto di Microbiologia, Universitá di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.