| Species/Subspecies: | Staphylococcus epidermidis | ||||||||||
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| Categories: | Causes hemolysis; in the normal flora | ||||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: bunch of grape-like cocci (coccus means a grain or berry). Species epithet: of epidermis (=the outer layer of skin). | ||||||||||
| Significance: | [Important] | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Bacilli Order Bacillales Family Staphylococcaceae Genus Staphylococcus |
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| Type Strain: | ATCC 14990 = CCUG 18000 A = CCUG 39508 = NCTC 11047. | ||||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell):
| Medium sized, white, opaque and flat colonies (1-2 mm in diameter). Many strains produce hemolysis on blood agar. | ||||||||||
| Micromorphology: | Non-motile cocci (0.8-1 µm in diameter), which often appear in pairs or in tetrads. May also appear as single cells or in small clusters. | ||||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G+ | ||||||||||
| Metabolism: | Facultatively anaerobic | ||||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | +/- | ||||||||||
| Other Enzymes: | Coagulase-, esculinase -, ornithine decarboxylase -, tryptophanase -, urease +. | ||||||||||
| Biochemical Tests: | Citrate -, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) +, methyl red -, Voges-Proskauer +. | ||||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates:
| D-glucose + lactose + maltose + L-rhamnose - sucrose + L-arabinose - cellobiose - D-mannitol - salicin - trehalose - glycerol + inulin ? raffinose - D-sorbitol ? starch - |
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| Spec. Char.: | Can form a capsule or biofilm consisting of teichoic acid and other components (on e.g. implants).Optimal growth temperature: 30-37°C. | ||||||||||
| Disease: | Belongs to the normal flora of the skin, but may occasionally cause opportunistic infections.
Cattle: mastitis och wound infections. Other animals: wound infections. |
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| Hosts: | Different animal species including cattle, dog, horse and humans. | ||||||||||
| Clinical Picture: | |||||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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About 70 species and subspecies have been described within the genus Staphylococcus. S. epidermidis is closely related to S. aureus. | ||||||||||
| Comment: | S. epidermidis is often found as contaminant of clinical samples. S. epidermidis belongs to the group coagulase negativs staphylococci (CNS). | ||||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-08 |