| Erysipelothrix | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cellular and colonial morphology of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Bacillati |
| Phylum: | Bacillota |
| Class: | Erysipelotrichia |
| Order: | Erysipelotrichales |
| Family: | Erysipelotrichaceae |
| Genus: | Erysipelothrix Rosenbach 1909 |
| Type species | |
| Erysipelothrix erysipeloides (Trevisan 1889) Rosenbach 1909 | |
| Species [1] | |
See text | |
Erysipelothrix is a genus of bacteria containing four described species: Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae , Erysipelothrix tonsillarum, Erysipelothrix inopinata and Erysipelothrix larvae. [1] [2] [3] [4] Additional species have been proposed based on DNA-DNA hybridization studies. [5] [6] "The hallmark of Erysipelothrix is the presence of a type B cell wall, in which the peptide bridge is formed between amino acids at positions 2 and 4 of adjacent peptide side-chains and not, as in the vast majority of bacteria, between amino acids at positions 3 and 4." [3]
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The best-known species within the genus is Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae , which is the cause of erysipelas of domestic pigs, poultry and other animal species. In humans, E. rhusiopathiae infections are termed erysipeloid. Erysipelothrix tonsillarum has been described as a pathogen for dogs and has been isolated from the tonsils of healthy pigs and cattle. [7] Disease caused by E. inopinata or E. larvae has not been described.
Bacteria of genus Erysipelothrix are straight or slightly curved, slender, nonmotile rods that may exist singly, in V-shaped pairs, or in short chains. Some strains have a tendency to form long filaments. The bacteria are Gram-positive but can be mistaken for Gram-negative bacteria during analysis because they lose their staining easily. They are aerobic to facultatively anaerobic but not acid-fast. [8]
