Trevisan, 1889.
Description – A Bacteria!! Not a fungus!!
Colonies are slow growing, aerobic, gram-positive, acid-fast to partially acid-fast, glabrous, heaped and folded, and white, pink, red, orange, or tan in color. Filaments are branched, fragmenting into rod and coccoid forms. Aerial filaments usually present.
Salient Characteristics
Medically important species of Nocardia are lysozyme resistant and do not produce acid from cellobiose.
Laboratory Precautions
Handle with care, but special precautions are not necessary.
Key reference
Goodfellow and Minnikin, 1977
Mishra, Gordon, and Barnett, 1980
Species
- Nocardia asteroides
- Nocardia brasiliensis
- Nocardia otitidiscaviarum
Diseases
- mycetoma
- nocardiosis
Sensitivity Testing