Rapid identification of Actinomycetaceae and related bacteria

Abstract

Identification of new isolates belonging to the family Actinomycetaceae requires extensive numbers of biochemical tests, supplemented with GLC determination of fermentation end products and, often, analysis of cell wall composition. Testing results of 162 strains of Actinomycetaceae and related taxa for 20 different enzymatic activities including phosphatases, esterases, aminopeptidases and glycosidases were described. The results of all tests were read after 4 h of incubation. The results obtained in the study provide significant new information on the biochemical properties of these groups of bacteria. An identification scheme based upon 13 selected tests, which allow the identification of these groups of bacteria within 4 h, is proposed.