Currently, only 11 species of Tsukamurella have been identified. Disease is caused in immunocompromised individuals (chronic lung disease, HIV/AIDS, leukemia, and post-operative wound infections.
T. paurometabola (the primary species) was originally known as Corynebacterium paurometabola.55
This organism requires the use of molecular techniques for definitive id. Most cases are isolated from oncology patients, dialysis, indwelling catheters – bacteremia, pulmonary, cutaneous, and even knee prosthesis infections.
Note: Images are scarce, but a good source for the workbench is the Manual of Clinical Microbiology (published by ASM Press).
| Characteristics | Comments |
| Appearance on Gram stain | Long, straight, thin rods; slightly curved; no branching |
| Appearance on modified acid-fast stain (MAS) | Weakly MAS positive. |
| Most often associated with clinical disease | Most human infections caused by: T. pulmonis, T. tyrosinosolvens, T. paurometabola, T. spumae |
| Colonial growth | No aerial mycelia; usually small, smooth to rough colonies; whitish to orange pigment |
| Phenotypic characterization56 | Lysozyme resistance positive Urease hydrolysis positive Pyrazinamidase positive Esculin positive 5% sodium chloride positive (tolerant) Nitrate reduction negative |
| Temperature of optimal growth | Below 37°C |
55. Conville PS, Brown-Elliott BA, Witebsky FG. Nocardia, Rhodococcus, Gordonia, Actinomadura, Streptomyces, and other aerobic actinomycetes. In: Carroll KC, Pfaller MA, Landry ML, McAdam AJ, Patel R, Richter SS, Warnock DW, eds. Manual of Clinical Microbiology, 12th ed. ASM Press; 2019:525-557.
