.

LECTURE 15

High GC
GRAM POSITIVE
BACTERIA

HIGH G+C GRAM POSITIVES

Actinomycetes

Corynebacteria

Propionic acid bacteria

Bifidobacteria

Micrococci

ACTINOMYCETES MORPHOLOGY
ACTINOMYCETES: Fig. 12.15. Growth of filamentous
morphology & microbes (fungus or actinomycetes).
Growth is from the hyphal tip.
reproduction

1
 ACTINOMYCETES MORPHOLOGY

An actinomycete colony growing on agar - note the

subterranean and aerial hyphae.

ACTINOMYCETES MORPHOLOGY ACTINOMYCETES REPRODUCTION

IN SUMMARY:

have filamentous growth, like fungi

on substrate, grow on and in it

thallus -- tissuelike mass, grown in culture

mycelium -- tangled mass of hyphae, found

in nature

ACTINOMYCETES REPRODUCTION ACTINOMYCETES REPRODUCTION

IN SUMMARY:
Fig. 11.19
actinomycetes (and fungi) reproduce via
spores

hyphal growth is followed by fragmentation

and release of spores

conidia spores produced asexually on

aerial filaments called sporophores

shape and arrangement of sporophores

help identification of actinomycete taxa
Fig 11.19. Conidia of Streptomyces

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 ACTINOMYCETES ECOLOGY

ACTINOMYCETES:
ecology predominantly soil bacteria

good at degrading recalcitrant

compounds such as chitin & cellulose

often active at higher pH (contrast to

fungi who may dominate at lower pH)

give soil the earthy smell

ACTINOMYCETES ECOLOGY ACTINOMYCETES ECOLOGY

Genus Frankia Frankia nodules on Ceanothus roots

--large genus that all form nodules on certain

non-legume trees

--fixes nitrogen from the air and converts into

forms useable by plant host

--involved in tripartite relationship with plant

and mycorrhizal fungus.

e.g.
Myrica in the tropics (invasive in Hawaii)
Alnus in temperate climates (early succesional)
Ceanothus in USA (including gardens)

ACTINOMYCETES ANTIBIOTICS

ACTINOMYCETES: most important genus is Streptomyces -

antibiotics over 500 described species!

produce many important antibiotics, including

Streptomycin - originally from S. griseus.

3
ACTINOMYCETES ANTIBIOTICS ACTINOMYCETES ANTIBIOTICS

Other antibiotics produced by Streptomyces spp:

Antibiotic: affects:
Spectinomycin M. tuberculosis, N. gonorrhea
Neomycin Broad spectrum, topical
Tetracyclines Broad spectrum,
Chlamydias,
Rickettsias etc.
Nystatin Fungi, esp. Candida
Erythromycin Gram + Bacteria and
Legionella
Chloramphenicol Broad spectrum, typhoid fever

Inability of a test organism to grow in the presence of

Streptomyces
suggests antibiotic production by the latter

ACTINOMYCETES ANTIBIOTICS

TUBERCULOSIS:
Fig. 04.18
pathology & history

Fig. 4.18. Secondary metabolites are produced at the end of the

growth phase and during stationary phase.

TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY &

HISTORY HISTORY

tubercular decay found in spinal

columns of Egyptian mummies
(2400BCE)
Hipocrates (460BCE) described
phthisis as most common disease
of his time
in 19th century Europe 1/7 of all
deaths attributed to TB
afflicted famous people such as:
Eleanor Roosevelt, Chopin, Checkov,
Kafka, Robert Louis Stevenson, the
entire Bronte family
began a 19th century literary genre:
the tragic lingering death by
consumption trophe

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TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY &
HISTORY HISTORY

tubercules (a type of granuloma) small, hard

Contraction: inhaling bacteria from nodules formed when macrophages
infected person surround and phagocytize M.
tuberculosis
Primary stage: bacteria isolated by
granuloma in lungs called a
tubercule

Secondary stage: bacteria fail to be

isolated, lesions form in lungs
(coughing up blood)

TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY &

HISTORY HISTORY
Before antibiotics, the only treatment was
Fig. 23.18 rest (to avoid secondary stage) lead to
many Sanitaria (Sanitariums) especially
in mountainous regions with clean dry
air (e.g. Boulder Mapleton Center, near
Mt. Sanitas).

Fig. 23.18.
Inflammatory
response forming a
Tubercle. Note the
lack of nuclei in
dead cells in center
of tubercle.

TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY &

HISTORY HISTORY

Robert Koch (remember him?) was

the first to isolate Mycobacterium
tuberculosis in 1882

Streptomycin was the first effective

antibiotic against TB (late 1940s) a
little too late for WW2.

Table 23.9

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 TUBERCULOSIS PHYSIOLOGY

TUBERCULOSIS:
physiology

TUBERCULOSIS PHYSIOLOGY TUBERCULOSIS PHYSIOLOGY

Mycobacteria all produce mycolic

acids (mycosides) - long-chain fats -
very hydrophobic and wax-like

Slow growing mycobacteria (such as

M. tuberculosis are so hydrophobic
that nutrients cant easily diffuse in

Mycolic acid is covalently bound to

the peptidoglycan layer of
Mycobacteria

TUBERCULOSIS PHYSIOLOGY

Fig. 23.17. M.
tuberculosis in
sputum sample. Acid-
fast stain is
diagnostic for
mycobacteria.
Acid-alcohol fast test
binds to mycolic acid.
Good stain for bacteria
too waxy for gram stain

You saw carbolfuchsin

in the Dorner endospore
stain!!

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TUBERCULOSIS PHYSIOLOGY TUBERCULOSIS PHYSIOLOGY

Virulence in M. tuberculosis associated with

cord factor

2 long chain alcohol groups hooked together

by a disaccharide (trehalose)
Cause cultures in media to have characteristic
corded look
Cord factor is implicated as causing severe
weight loss in TB patients
Cord factor is also a virulence factor because
it binds cells of M. tuberculosis together so
that they are further resistant to our immune
system

TUBERCULOSIS: THE DISEASE TODAY

TUBERCULOSIS:
In U.S., about 10,000,000 infected
the disease today individuals, many showing few
symptoms

12,000 deaths in U.S. per year

very common disease as part of AIDS

and in the homeless population..

TUBERCULOSIS: THE DISEASE TODAY TUBERCULOSIS: THE DISEASE TODAY

Fig. 23.16

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TUBERCULOSIS: THE DISEASE TODAY
many cases are multi-drug resistant
TUBERCULOSIS: THE DISEASE TODAY
CORYNEFORM BACTERIA
name comes from club: some are
club shaped
are usually rod shaped (though stay
tuned) and arranged as Vs due to
snapping division
TUBERCULOSIS: THE DISEASE TODAY
Many patients start feeling better after a month of
antibiotic therapy and stop using antibiotics - which
leads to more drug resistant bacteria. Best solution is
DOTS = direct observation therapy
CORYNEFORM BACTERIA
CORYNEFORM BACTERIA
snapping division
2 thick peptidoglycan layers
inner layer of cell wall grows inward to
divide 2 new cells. As it thickens, it puts
tension on outer wall until it ruptures. The
snapping tears the outer wall apart except
at one point which holds the 2 cells
together like a hinge.
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 CORYNEFORM BACTERIA

Some important genera of Coryneforms:

Arthrobacter spp. common soil inhabitants

rods when well fed and coccoid cells when
hungry. The coccoid cells are long-lived spore-
like cells.

Corynebacterium spp. are common aerobic

organisms of soil. One species, C. diphtheriae
causes diphtheria.

Fig. 11.14. Gram stain of a Corynebacterium -

note V shapes

CORYNEFORM BACTERIA CORYNEFORM BACTERIA

diptheria
Arthrobacter has a rod-coccus growth cycle
Corynebacterium diptheriae usually
spread by inhalation
actual invasibility of the bacteria is
minimal
Produces powerful exotoxin that
damages organs and causes build up
of dead tissue in throat
Exotoxin only produces if bacteria
In log phase, they are rods that replicate via are infected with a certain
snapping division. In stationary phase, they bacteriophage (virus) and iron levels
are coccoid. to be low
1 of 10 diptheria patients die

PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA

Swiss cheese:
PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA
other bacteria (e.g. lactobacilli) ferment
milks lactose to lactic acid, form curds

Propionibacteria then multiply, producing

acetate, CO2 & propionic acid

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 PROPIONIC ACID
PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA
BACTERIA

Fig. 06.23

Fig. 6.23

PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA

Propionibacteria acnes in skin:

anaerobic bacteria found in hair follicles

(densities up to 107 per square cm of skin)

growth enhanced by secretions of

sebaceous glands

under normal conditions, P. acnes is happy hair follicle

beneficial: creates low pH skin
environment hostile to pathogens

when sebaceous gland gets clogged, P.

acnes multiplies in trapped sebum: ACNE!

BIFIDOBACTERIUM

BIFIDOBACTERIUM Bifidobacterium bifidus

anaerobic

ferments a specific amino sugar and

lactulose (a disaccharide consisting of
fructose and galactose) found in breast
milk

breast milk also contains bifidus factor, an

oligosaccharide that specifically promotes
bifidus colonization

one of the initial colonists of the intestines

of human babies

also added to yogurt.

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 MICROCOCCUS

oligate aerobic cocci

Fig. 11.12 Have high %GC but morphologically dissimilar
MICROCOCCUS to the rest of the high GC gram + bacteria

usually yellow, orange, or red in color

11