Corynebacterium propinquum

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Gram stain Culture

General information
- The pathogenic potential of coryneform bacteria has been underestimated
  
  Taxonomy
  Family: Corynebacteriaceae
  
  Natural habitats
  They are part of the normal oropharyngeal flora.
  
  Clinical significance
  This organism has not yet been fully recognized as a respiratory infection caused by C. propinquum.
  Gram staining of the purulent sputum is an essential tool to evaluate wheter C. propinquum is a respiratory pathogen or not, because this organism is a commensal bacteria.
  
  Corynebacterium species are becoming recognized as an increasing cause of opportunistic infections.
  
  Most of the respiratory disease occurred in immunosuppressed hosts.
Gram stain
- Gram positive rods,
  
  irregularly shaped (‘coryneforms”), they are arranged as single cells, in pairs, in V forms, in palisades, or in clusters with
  
  a so-called Chinese-letter appearance.
  
  Club-shaped rods are observed in true members of the genus Corynebacterium only
Culture characteristics
- Obligate aerobic
  
  BA: colonies are whitish, and somewhat dryish, entire edges and 1 to 2 mm after 24 hours of incubation.
  
  McConkey: no growth
  
  BBAØ: no growth
Characteristics
References
- James Versalovic et al.(2011) Manual of Clinical Microbiology 10th Edition