| Alcaligenes faecalis |
Taxonomy
Morphology
Cultural characteristics
Biochemical characters
Ecology
Pathogenicity
References
Phylum Proteobacteria, Class Betaproteobacteria, Order Burkholderiales, Family Alcaligenaceae, Genus Alcaligenes, Alcaligenes
faecalis Castellani and Chalmers 1919, type species of the genus.
Divided into 3 subspecies:
- Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. faecalis (Castellani and Chalmers 1919) Austin et al. 1981,
- Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. parafaecalis Schroll et al. 2001,
- Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. phenolicus Rehfuss and Urban 2006.
Note: Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. homari, Alcaligenes aquamarinus, and Deleya aesta are considered to be heterotypic synonyms.
They were moved in the genus Halomonas as Halomonas aquamarina.
Old synonyms: Achromobacter arsenoxydans-tres Turner 1954, Pseudomonas odorans (Malek and Kazdova-Kosiskova 1946) Malek,
Radochova and Lysenko 1963, Alcaligenes odorans var. viridans Mitchell and Clarke 1965.
faecalis Castellani and Chalmers 1919, type species of the genus.
Divided into 3 subspecies:
- Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. faecalis (Castellani and Chalmers 1919) Austin et al. 1981,
- Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. parafaecalis Schroll et al. 2001,
- Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. phenolicus Rehfuss and Urban 2006.
Note: Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. homari, Alcaligenes aquamarinus, and Deleya aesta are considered to be heterotypic synonyms.
They were moved in the genus Halomonas as Halomonas aquamarina.
Old synonyms: Achromobacter arsenoxydans-tres Turner 1954, Pseudomonas odorans (Malek and Kazdova-Kosiskova 1946) Malek,
Radochova and Lysenko 1963, Alcaligenes odorans var. viridans Mitchell and Clarke 1965.
Gram-negative rods or coccobacilli, 0.5-1.2 x 1.0-3.0 μm. Non-spore-forming. Motile
by 1-9 peritrichous flagella.
by 1-9 peritrichous flagella.
Colonies on nutrient agar are nonpigmented to grayish white, translucent to opaque,
flat to low convex, margin usually entire, usually smooth, sometimes dull or rough.
Most strains form colonies with a thin, spreading irregular edge. No special pigments
are produced. A characteristic strawberry-like odor is produced by some strains. A
green discoloration on blood agar may appear. Strictly aerobic. Optimal growth
temperature is 20-37 ºC. Can grow on MacConkey agar and Simmons' citrate agar.
flat to low convex, margin usually entire, usually smooth, sometimes dull or rough.
Most strains form colonies with a thin, spreading irregular edge. No special pigments
are produced. A characteristic strawberry-like odor is produced by some strains. A
green discoloration on blood agar may appear. Strictly aerobic. Optimal growth
temperature is 20-37 ºC. Can grow on MacConkey agar and Simmons' citrate agar.
Isolated from soil, water, feces, urine, blood, sputum,wounds, pleural fluid, nematodes, and insects.
Subsp. parafaecalis was isolated from water (garden pond).
Subsp. phenolicus was isolated from a graywater bioprocessor.
Subsp. homari was isolated from lobsters.
Subsp. parafaecalis was isolated from water (garden pond).
Subsp. phenolicus was isolated from a graywater bioprocessor.
Subsp. homari was isolated from lobsters.
Undetermined. Subsp. faecalis may be an opportunistic pathogen. Subsp. homari was isolated from moribund lobsters.
- Hendrie, M. S., A. J. Holding, and J. M. Shewan. 1974. Emended descriptions of the genus Alcaligenes and of Alcaligenes faecalis
and proposal that the generic name Achromobacter be rejected: status of the named species of Alcaligenes and Achromobacter.
Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 24534-550. - Austin (B.), Rodgers (C.J.), Forns (J.M.) and Colwell (R.R.): Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. homari subsp. nov., a new group of
bacteria isolated from moribund lobsters. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 1981, 31, 72-76. - Hans-Jurgen Busse and Georg Auling: Genus I. Alcaligenes Castellani and Chalmers 1919, 936AL in: Bergey's Manual of
Systematic Bacteriology, vol. 2, part C: The Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Epsilonproteobacteria, George M. Garrity (Editor-in-Chief),
2005, 653-658. - Yabuuchi (E.), Kawamura (Y.), Kosako (Y.) and Ezaki (T.): Emendation of the genus Achromobacter and Achromobacter
xylosoxidans (Yabuuchi and Yano) and proposal of Achromobacter ruhlandii (Packer and Vishniac) comb. nov., Achromobacter
piechaudii (Kiredjian et al.) comb. nov., and Achromobacter xylosoxidans subsp. denitrificans (Rüger and Tan) comb. nov.
Microbiol. Immunol., 1998, 42, 429-438.
Positive results for catalase & oxidase.
Can utilize: acetate, D- and L-alpha-alanine, L-aspartate, butyrate, caprate, citrate,
fumarate, L-glutamate, glycolate, DL-beta-hydroxybutyrate, L-isoleucine, DL-lactate,
L-leucine, DL-norleucine, malonate, L-malate, L-phenylalanine, L-proline, propionate,
phenylacetate and succinate.
Negative results for cellulose hydrolysis, DNase, esculin hydrolysis, H2S production,
indole production, lysine decarboxylase, ornithine deacarboxylase, starch hydrolysis,
urease, acid production from D-glucose and D-xylose.
No utilization of: adipate, D- and L-arabinose, amygdalin, adonitol, D- and L-arabitol,
arbutin, beta-alanine, L-arginine, azelate, gamma-aminobutyrate, benzylamine,
butylamine, betaine, creatine, L-citrulline, cellobiose, dulcitol, esculin, ethanolamine,
meso-erythritol, D-fructose, D- and L-fucose, D-glucose, D-galactose, D-gluconate,
glycerol, gentibiose, glycogen, histamine, m-hydroxybenzoate, meso-inositol,
itaconate, inulin, 2- and 5-ketogluconate, lactose, D-lyxose, levulinate, mesaconate,
D-malate, D-mannose, maltose, melezitose, melibiose, N-acetylglucosamine,
oxalate, pentylamine, pimelate, p-hydroxybenzoate, D-ribose, raffinose, L-rhamnose,
salicin, L-sorbose, sorbitol, sarcosine, sebacate, spermine, suberate, sucrose, D-
and L-tartrate, meso-tartrate, trehalose, D-tagatose, turanose, L-tyrosine, D- and
L-xylose.
Variable results for utilization of acetamide, aconitate, caproate, caprylate, citraconate,
L-cysteine, glycine, glutarate, DL-glycerate, heptanoate, isobutyrate,
alpha-ketoglutarate, L-lysine, L-methionine, maleate, L-mandelate, pelargonate,
pyruvate, L-threonine, valerate, isovalerate and L-valine.
Subsp. phenolicus can degrade phenol.
Can utilize: acetate, D- and L-alpha-alanine, L-aspartate, butyrate, caprate, citrate,
fumarate, L-glutamate, glycolate, DL-beta-hydroxybutyrate, L-isoleucine, DL-lactate,
L-leucine, DL-norleucine, malonate, L-malate, L-phenylalanine, L-proline, propionate,
phenylacetate and succinate.
Negative results for cellulose hydrolysis, DNase, esculin hydrolysis, H2S production,
indole production, lysine decarboxylase, ornithine deacarboxylase, starch hydrolysis,
urease, acid production from D-glucose and D-xylose.
No utilization of: adipate, D- and L-arabinose, amygdalin, adonitol, D- and L-arabitol,
arbutin, beta-alanine, L-arginine, azelate, gamma-aminobutyrate, benzylamine,
butylamine, betaine, creatine, L-citrulline, cellobiose, dulcitol, esculin, ethanolamine,
meso-erythritol, D-fructose, D- and L-fucose, D-glucose, D-galactose, D-gluconate,
glycerol, gentibiose, glycogen, histamine, m-hydroxybenzoate, meso-inositol,
itaconate, inulin, 2- and 5-ketogluconate, lactose, D-lyxose, levulinate, mesaconate,
D-malate, D-mannose, maltose, melezitose, melibiose, N-acetylglucosamine,
oxalate, pentylamine, pimelate, p-hydroxybenzoate, D-ribose, raffinose, L-rhamnose,
salicin, L-sorbose, sorbitol, sarcosine, sebacate, spermine, suberate, sucrose, D-
and L-tartrate, meso-tartrate, trehalose, D-tagatose, turanose, L-tyrosine, D- and
L-xylose.
Variable results for utilization of acetamide, aconitate, caproate, caprylate, citraconate,
L-cysteine, glycine, glutarate, DL-glycerate, heptanoate, isobutyrate,
alpha-ketoglutarate, L-lysine, L-methionine, maleate, L-mandelate, pelargonate,
pyruvate, L-threonine, valerate, isovalerate and L-valine.
Subsp. phenolicus can degrade phenol.
(c) Costin Stoica
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Differential characters of Alcaligenes faecalis subspecies:
| Alcaligenes faecalis colonies on Sheep Blood Agar |
| Alcaligenes faecalis, Gram-negative coccobacilli |
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