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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Staphylococcus epidermidis
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:
Phylum
Bacillota
Class
Bacilli
Order
Bacillales
Family
Staphylococcaceae 
Genus
Staphylococcus
Type Strain: ATCC 14990 = CCUG 18000 A = CCUG 39508 = NCTC 11047.
Macromorphology (smell):
Staphylococcus epidermidis  Staphylococcus epidermidis  Staphylococcus epidermidis  
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 -:
Staphylococcus epidermidis  
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:

Staphylococcus epidermidis   
D-glucose
+
lactose
+
maltose
+
L-rhamnose
-
sucrose
+
L-arabinose
-
cellobiose
-
D-mannitol
-
salicin
-
trehalose
-
glycerol
+
inulin
?
raffinose
-
D-sorbitol
?
starch
-
Other carbohydrates: inositol -, xylose +, galactose -, dulcitol -.
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.
Special Media:
Disease:Belongs to the normal flora of the skin, but may occasionally cause opportunistic infections.
Cattle: mastitis och wound infections.
Other animals: wound infections.
Hosts: Different animal species including cattle, dog, horse and humans.
Clinical Picture:
Genome Sequence:
Acc-noStrainSize (bp)Genome
NC_004461 ATCC 12228 2 499 279 1l + 6l 
Två stammar har sekvenserats och de hade 1 eller 6 plasmider.

16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperonSequence similarity
D83363 ATCC 14990T 1 475 99.87 - 99% 

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
Staphylococcus epidermidis  
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

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