Family – Actinomycetaceae

 Definition
 Gram-positive rods, 0.4 – 1 mm wide
 Straight, curved or pleomorphic and occur singly, in pairs, clusters or short chains
 Filaments up to 50 mm in length (some species)
 Non-motile, nonsporing, non-acid-fast
 Grow in the form of primary mycelium which breaks up into coccoid bodies
 Majority are facultative anaerobes; some are anaerobes
 Members of several species grow well aerobically with added carbondioxide
 Catalase negative (Except A. viscosus)
 G+C content of DNA is 55-71 mol%
 Type species - A. bovis
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 Members
2

 Actinomyces
 Actinobaculum
 Arcanobacterium
 Varibaculum
 Mobiluncus

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Species Habitat
A. israelii Oral cavity (Humans)
A. eriksoni Oral cavity (Humans)
A. viscosus Oral cavity (Animals)
A. meyeri Oral cavity (Humans)
A. odontolyticus Oral cavity (Humans)
A. naeslundii Oral cavity (Humans)

Differentiated by colony morphology, requirement of oxygen, biochemical tests and

molecular methods 10/29/2023
 Morphology
4

 Gram-positive, nonmotile, nonsporing, non-acid-

fast organisms which often grow in mycelial forms
and break up into coccal and bacillary forms
 Actinomyces form colonies in tissues that appear as
granules in the pus

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 Crushed preparation  Clubs- Gram-negative

 Acid-fast
 Central filamentous  Host tissue origin (lipoid
mycelium surrounded material)
by a peripheral zone of  Not formed in vitro condition
swollen radiating club-  Sulphur granules
shaped structures (gram-  Usually yellow (sometimes
negative), presenting a white)
sun-ray appearance  Firm, round, 0.5 – 5 mm in
diameter
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 Pathogenicity
6

 Actinomycosis (Human actinomycosis – A. israelii)

 Chronic disease characterized by multiple abscesses and
granulomas, tissue destruction and fibrosis with the
formation of sinuses
 3 clinical forms
 Cervicofacialregion (60%)
Superinfection with other
 Abdominal (20%) endogenous bacteria
 Thoracic/ Pulmonary (15%)
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 Laboratory diagnosis
7

 Specimens – Pus from draining sinus, sputum infected

tissues
 Macroscopic examination of pus look for sulphur
granules
 Wash the granules with Thioglycollate broth and study the
texture of granules in petridish.
 Crush the granules by placing them between two glass
slides.
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 Microscopic examination
8

 Gram-stain
 Acid-fast stain (1% H2SO4)

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 Culture
9

 Blood agar
 Thioglycollate broth
 37C for at least 2 weeks – aerobic and anaerobic
condition

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 Culture
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Blood agar: Small, creamy, grey white with rough nodular surface (spidery colonies/molar
teeth-like)

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 Culture
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Thioglycollate broth: Breadcrumb like colonies below the surface of the medium

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 Biopsy – HE stained section

 Immunofluorescent staining

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 Biochemical properties of A. israelii
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 Catalase – Negative
 Indole – Negative
 Urease – Negative
 Aesculin hydrolysis – Positive
 Glucose fermentation – Positive
 Lactose fermentation – Positive
 Mannitol fermentation - Positive
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 Treatment
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 Penicillin
 Erythromycin
 Clindamycin

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