NICK'S NOTES

- Actinomycetes is a branch of the Actinomycetales, which is a major branch of the Prokaryotae Kingdom.

- They are gram-possitive organisims.

- They grow slowly and branch filaments. As more and more filaments grow they forms mycelial colonies. These are typical of Fungus and therfore Actinomycetes were first thought to be a kind of    Fungus.

- Because they were thought of as fungi they were named so; aktino= ray, mykes= mushroom (which is a fungus).

http://www.kuleuven.ac.be/gih/actinom.htm

(full citation in Bibliography)

 -Flagella is location on the substrate. It grows on and in it.

- has thallus or a tissue like mass that grows in cultures

- also has mycelium which is a tangled mass of hyphae that is found in nature.

- reproduce by spores

- hyphal growth is followed by fragmentation and release of spores

- conidia is when spores produce asexually on aerial filaments (sporophores)

- Actinomycetes fix nitrogen from the air and converts it into a form that plants can use it.

- Actinomycetes produce Streptomycin which is an antibiotic that prodeces...

    Spectinomycin, Neomycin, Tetracyclines, Chamydias, Rickettsias etc., Nystatin, Erythromycin, Legionella, and Chloramphenicol.

http://www.colorado.edu/eeb/EEBprojects/schmidtlab/studentres/EBIO3400/HighGCGm.pdf

(full citation in Bibliography)