THE GENUS DERMATOPHILUS

ABSTRACT

Gordon, M. A. (New York State Department of Health, Albany). The genus Dermatophilus. J. Bacteriol. 88:509–522. 1964.—Seventeen strains of Dermatophilus originating in skin lesions of cattle, sheep, horses, deer, and man were compared as to conditions for growth, colonial characteristics under varying conditions, microscopic morphology, and biochemical reactions. All grew well aerobically at 37 C and were facultatively anaerobic. They were morphologically similar in both gross and microscopic appearance, and most produced motile spores. Stable gray variants often appeared among the orange-yellow “wild-type” colonies. Acid without gas was produced consistently from glucose and fructose, and transitorily from galactose, but was produced from none of eight other carbohydrates except belatedly by some strains from maltose. Almost all strains hydrolyzed casein, most of them digested BCP milk with varying rapidity, and the majority liquefied gelatin, but there was considerable variation in this last property. Differences crossed both host and geographic lines. It is concluded that all isolates can be accommodated in the species D. congolensis Van Saceghem 1915, emend. 1916, 1934, with D. dermatonomus and D. pedis falling into synonymy.