Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. insidiosum
Legend: + positive; - negative; V variable; nd not determined.
 
Acid from
lactose
Acid from
mannitol
Acid from
raffinose
Acid from
salicin
Acid from
sorbitol
Acid from
trehalose
Subsp. californensis
nd
-
-
nd
-
nd
Subsp. chilensis
nd
-
-
nd
-
nd
Subsp. insidiosum
+
v
-
-
-
+
Subsp. michiganensis
-
v
v
v
-
v
Subsp. nebraskensis
-
v
v
-
v
v
Subsp. phaseoli
nd
-
nd
nd
-
nd
Subsp. sepedonicus
-
+
+
-
v
-
Subsp. tessellarius
nd
+
nd
nd
nd
nd
 
Gelatinase
Methyl red
Voges-Proskauer
H2S production
Citrate
utilization
Acid from
arabinose
Subsp. californensis
-
-
nd
-
-
nd
Subsp. chilensis
-
-
nd
-
+
nd
Subsp. insidiosum
-
+
+
v
+
+
Subsp. michiganensis
+
v
+
+
+
v
Subsp. nebraskensis
-
v
-
v
+
v
Subsp. phaseoli
-
-
nd
nd
nd
nd
Subsp. sepedonicus
-
-
-
-
+
-
Subsp. tessellarius
-
-
+
nd
+
nd
Taxonomy
Morphology
Cultural characteristics
Biochemical characters
Ecology
Pathogenicity
References
Phylum Actinobacteria, Class Actinobacteria, Subclass Actibacteridae, Order Actynomycetales, Suborder Micrococcinae, Family
Microbacteriaceae, Genus Clavibacter Davis, Gillaspsie Jr., Vidaver and Harris 1984,
Clavibacter michiganensis corrig. (Smith 1910)
Davis, Gillaspsie Jr., Vidaver and Harris 1984,  comb. nov.

Historical synonyms:
Corynebacterium insidiosum (McCulloch 1925) Jensen 1934, Corynebacterium michiganense subsp.
insidiosum
(McCulloch 1925) Carlson and Vidaver 1982 comb. nov., "Aplanobacter insidiosum" McCulloch 1925, "Bacterium
insidiosum"
(McCulloch 1925) Stapp 1928, " Phytomonas insidiosa" (McCulloch 1925) Bergey et al. 1930, "Erwinia insidiosa"
(McCulloch 1925) Jensen 1934, "Mycobacterium insidiosum" (McCulloch 1925) Krasil'nikov 1941, "Burkholderiella insidiosa"
(McCulloch 1925) Savulescu 1947.
Gram-positive pleomorphic (straight or slightly curved slender) rods, predominantly wedge-shaped but coccoid,  0.4-0.5 / 0.7-1.0 µm;
predominantly single cells but some V,Y and palisade arrangements are usually present. Non-motile. Non-sporulated. Mycolic acids
are not present.
Require nutritionally rich media (nutrient broth yeast extract medium, tetrazolium
chloride medium, nutrient glucose agar, etc) on which they grow slowly . Thiamine,
biotin and nicotinic acid, histidine, purine and pyrimidines  are essential growth
factors. Obligately aerobic. Optimal growth at 21-24 ºC.
On nutrient glucose agar colonies becoming visible in 5 days and completed
developed in 9 days; they are flat to low convex, 5-6 mm, opaque, smooth, entire or
irregular and semi-fluidal when freshly isolated but become butyrous with prolonged
subculturing. They are white at first but later becoming pale yellow. Dark blue to violet
granules of indigoidine develop after 6-7 days at 15-20 ºC; higher temperature inhibit
or reduce pigment formation. Pigmentation of colonies on  SC agar is white and on
NBY agar is yellow.
Isolated from various flowering plants. Host specificity: alfalfa (Medicago sativa). No bacteriophage sensitivity .
Pathogenic, obligate parasite of various flowering plants. Causes a vascular wilt and stunting of lucerne (alfalfa, Medicago sativa),
some other
Medicago spp. and Melilotus alba.
  1. Cummins C.S., Lelliott R.A. and Rogosa M., 1975. Genus Corynebacterium Lehmann and Neumann 1896 . In: Buchanan R.E.
    and Gibbons N.E. (Editors), Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, Eight Edition, The Williams & Wilkins Company,
    Baltimore, 602-617.
  2. Holt J.G., Krieg N.R., Sneath P.H.A., Staley J.T. and Williams S.T., 1994. Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, Ninth
    Edition, Williams & Wilkins, A Waverly Company, Baltimore, pp 571-596.
  3. Davis M.J., Gillaspie Jr. A.G., Vidaver A.K. and Harris R.W., 1984. Clavibacter: a New Genus Containing Some Phytopathogenic
    Coryneform Bacteria, Including Clavibacter xyli subsp. xyli sp. nov., subsp. nov. and Clavibacter xyli subsp. cynodontis subsp.
    nov., Pathogens That Cause Ratoon Stunting Disease of Sugarcane and Bermudagrass Stunting Disease. IJSB Vol. 34, No. 2, p.
    107-117.
  4. Carlson R.R. and Vidaver A.K., 1982. Taxonomy of Corynebacterium Plant Pathogens, Including a New Pathogen of Wheat, Based
    on Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis of Cellular Proteins. IJSB Vol. 32, N0. 3, p. 315-326.
  5. Vidaver A.K. and Mandel M., 1974. Corynebacterium nebraskense, a New, Orange-Pigmented Phytopathogenic Species. Int. J.
    Syst. Bacteriol. Vol. 24, No. 4, p. 482-485.
  6. Gonzales A.J. and Trapiello E. 2014. Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. phaseoli subsp. nov., pathogenic in bean. Int. J. Syst. Evol.
    Microbiol. 64, 1752-1755.
  7. Yasuhara-Bell J. and Alvarez A.M., 2015. Seed-associated subspecies of the genus Clavibacter are clearly distinguishable from
    Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis. Int. J. Syst. Microbiol. 65, 811-826.
Not acid fast.

Positive results for catalase, citrate utilization, esculin hydrolysis, methyl red test, Voges-Proskauer test, acid production from:
arabinose, galactose, glucose,  lactose, mannose, sucrose & trehalose.

Negative results for casein hydrolysis, gelatinase, indole production, lipase, nitrate reduction, oxidase, starch hydrolysis, tyrosine
hydrolysis, urease, acid production from: inulin, melezitose, melibiose, raffinose, rhamnose, ribose, salicin & sorbitol.

Variable results for H
2S production, acid production from: mannitol & xylose.
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Differential characters of Corynebacterium michiganensis subspecies: