2. Pseudomonas pseudomallei (Whitmore, 1913) Haynes, comb. nov. (Bacillis pseudomallei Whitmore, Jour. Hyg., 13, 1913, 1; Bacillus whitmori Stanton and Fletcher, Trans. 4th Cong. Far East Assn. Trop. Med., 2, 1921, 196; also see Jour. Hyg., 23, 1925, 347; Malleomyces pseudomallei Breed, in Manual, 5th ed., 1939, 300; Loefflerella pseudomallei Brindle and Cowan, Jour. Path, and Bact., 63, 1951, 574.)
pseu.do.mal′le.i. Gr. adj. pseudes false; L. noun malleus the disease glanders; M.L. noun pseudomalleus false glanders; M.L. gen. noun pseudomallei of false glanders.
Short rods, with rounded ends, occurring singly and in short chains. Motile. Possess 1 to 4 polar flagella (Brindle and Cowan, ibid., 571); this was confirmed by de Lajudie, Fournier and Chambon (Ann. Inst. Past., 85, 1953, 112). Show bipolar staining. Gram-negative.
Gelatin stab: Moderate, crateriform liquefaction.
Agar colonies: Circular, slightly raised, thick, opaque, cream-colored with irregular margin.
Glycerol agar slant: Wrinkled, thick, rugose, cream-colored growth.
Broth: Turbid with pellicle.
Litmus milk: Curdling with slowly developed acidity; pink sediment; may be digested.
Potato: Vigorous, cream-colored growth.
Indole not produced.
Acid from glucose, maltose, lactose, sucrose and mannitol.
Grows in simple, chemically defined media containing single amino acids or the ammonium salt of certain organic acids as the sole carbon, nitrogen and energy source in a mineral salt base (Levine, Dowling, Evenson and Lien, Jour. Bact., 67, 1954, 350).
Blood serum slowly liquefied.
Aerobic, facultative.
Optimum temperature, 37° C; but will grow readily at 42° C. (Cowan, personal communication, March, 1955).
Distinctive character: Brygoo and Richard (Ann. Inst. Past., 83, 1952, 822) report that a large number of strains, isolated in Saigon, produce a yellow pigment which is extractable in 2 per cent boiling HCl; a few of these strains become non-pigmented when cultured on glycerol agar media. While this pigment has sometimes been described as water-soluble, Brindle and Cowan (op. cit., 1951, 574) suggest that this species may be more closely related to the species placed in Xanthomonas than to those placed in Pseudomonas. The xanthomonads develop yellow, non-diffusible, carotenoid pigments.
Source: Isolated from lesions and blood in rats, guinea pigs, rabbits and man; also isolated once from a transient nasal discharge in a horse, once from a splenic abscess in a cow and once from a fatal case of an infected sheep. Virulent and avirulent strains can also be readily isolated from water at Saigon, Indochina, if appropriate media are used (Fournier and Chambon, personal communication, 1955).
Habitat: Glanders-like infections (melioidosis) in rats, guinea pigs, rabbits and man in India, Federated Malay States and IndoChina.
3. Pseudomonas reptilivora Caldwell and Ryerson, 1940. (Pseudomonas reptilivorous (sic) Caldwell and Ryerson, Jour. Bact., 39, 1940, 335.)
rep.ti.li′vo.ra. L. n. reptile a reptile; L. V. voro to devour; M.L. adj. reptilivorus reptile-destroying.
Rods, 0.5 by 1.5 to 2.0 microns, occurring singly, in pairs and in short chains. Actively motile with two to six polar flagella. Gram-negative.
Gelatin colonies: After 24 hours, small, circular, smooth, entire. Liquefaction. Medium becomes yellowish green fluorescent.
Gelatin stab: Infundibuliform liquefaction becoming stratiform. Putrid odor present.
Serum slant: Liquefied.
Agar cultures: Circular, smooth, glistening, slightly raised, butyrous, translucent, 2 mm in diameter.
Agar slant: Growth abundant, smooth, filiform, glistening, butyrous and translucent.
Broth: Turbid with pellicle and sediment. Putrid odor.
Litmus milk: Alkaline, peptonization, complete reduction. Disagreeable odor.
Potato: Growth moderate, spreading.
