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Corynebacterium

Corynebacterium

9.9
A group of bacteria shaped like short rods that sometimes cause disease in people and animals
  • noun
  • /ˌkɔːrɪnɪbækˈtɪəriəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Corynebacterium
  • In the 1950s, for example, investigators realized that the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae causes the upper respiratory illness known as diphtheria only if a certain bacteriophage infects the microbe.
  • Corynebacterium ulcerans

Examples

  • In contrast, infants delivered by caesarean section typically show microbial communities associated with the skin, including Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, and Propionibacterium.

    Blog text (23)
  • Origin of nontoxigenic tox-bearing Corynebacterium ulcerans field strains among game animals and gross pathology results from necropsies, Germany.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Corynebacterium ulcerans may cause diphtheria in humans and caseous lymphadenitis in animals.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Figure 2. Pseudotuberculosis-like caseous abscesses caused by Corynebacterium ulcerans in wild boar S28/3/13. Scale is shown in millimeters.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Similarly, we have collected 12,000 bacterial isolates during the past 4 years, and standard microbiology has recovered only two cases of Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum—one from an infected ear and one from an infected eye.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Corynebacterium ulcerans may cause diphtheria in humans and caseous lymphadenitis in animals.

  • Three genera—Corynebacterium, Propionibacterium, and Staphylococcus—account for most of the bacteria in your nostrils.

Compounds

8.9

A type of bacteria that causes diphtheria in people

Surface Forms

Morphology

Corynebacterium = bacterium (semi-transparent) = coryne + bacterium

The element 'coryne-' is a specialist combining form unfamiliar to most learners, but 'bacterium' makes clear it names a kind of bacterium.

Etymology

Corynebacterium comes from the parts koryne, meaning 'club', and bacterium, meaning 'rod' or 'staff', and the second part is the same root as in bacteria. That's a helpful picture: these are bacteria that look like club-shaped rods under a microscope, and some kinds can cause disease such as diphtheria.