| Species/Subspecies: | Streptococcus pneumoniae | ||||||||
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| Categories: | Causes hemolysis; primarily of interest in human medicin | ||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: twisted (like a chain) coccus (coccus means a grain or a berry and referrs to any spherical microorganism) Species epithet: of pneumonia | ||||||||
| Significance: | [Important] | ||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Bacilli Order Lactobacillales Family Streptococcaceae Genus Streptococcus |
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| Type Strain: | ATCC 33400 = CCUG 28588 = NCTC 7465. | ||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell): | Small colonies (0.5-1 mm in diameter) after incubation for 24 h at 37°C on blood agar. Strong alpha-hemolysis (greenish) on blood agar under aerobic cultivation. | ||||||||
| Micromorphology: | Nonmotile cocci (0.5-1.25 microns in diameter) in pairs or in short chains. | ||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G+ | ||||||||
| Metabolism: | Facultatively anaerobic | ||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | -/ | ||||||||
| Other Enzymes: | Esculinase v, hippuricase -, urease - | ||||||||
| Biochemical Tests: | Voges-Proskauer - | ||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | D-glucose + lactose + maltose + L-rhamnose ? sucrose + L-arabinose + cellobiose ? D-mannitol v salicin v trehalose v glycerol + inulin + raffinose + D-sorbitol - starch v |
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| Spec. Char.: | Can grow from 25°C to 42°C. S. pneumoniae can form polysaccharide capsules of about 100 different serotypes. | ||||||||
| Disease: | Septicaemia, pneumonia, meningitis |
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| Hosts: | Man, primates and rodents | ||||||||
| Clinical Picture: | |||||||||
| Virulence Factors: | Invasins (pneumolysin), capsule, etc. | ||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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About 100 species have been described within the genus Streptococcus. Many species within the genus Enterococcus have earlier been classified as streptococci and, thus, they are closely related. | ||||||||
| Comment: | Belongs to Lancefield's group NG (= non-groupable) streptcocci. | ||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-08 |
