Corynebacterium jekeium

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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 biota of the skin, particularly of inpatients.
  
  Clinical significance
  C. jeikeium is a frequently encountered Corynebacterium in clinical specimens, being associated with endocarditis, sepsis, prosthetic device, heart valve, bone marrow, bile, wounds UTIs and other infections.
  
  Nosocomial transmission has been described.
  
  It resistant to multiple antibiotics.
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 tiny (lipophilic), low, entire, and grayish white.
  
  Lipophilic bacteria
  (fat-liking bacteria) are bacteria that proliferate in lipids.
  
  Good growth is observed with broth supplemented with 1% Tween 80
  
  McConkey: no growth
  
  BBAØ: no growth
Characteristics
References
- James Versalovic et al.(2011) Manual of Clinical Microbiology 10th Edition