ABSTRACT
Campylobacter sputorum subspecies mucosalis is a Gram-negative, short, irregularly curved rod measuring 0.25 to 0.3 μm in width and 0.95 to 2.8 μm in length in preparations examined by light microscopy. All cultures are motile, this being easily demonstrated in the water of condensation of slope cultures or in the fluid phase of biphasic cultures. In negatively stained intact bacteria, the outer coat appears in one of two forms, apparently related to some extent to the stage of growth. Most media capable of supporting the growth of the more fastidious pathogens are likely to prove satisfactory in the cultivation of the organism on solid medium. The colonial appearance is modified by the moisture content of the medium. Colonies growing on selective media may take longer to develop than on noninhibitory media, plates are not finally rejected until after 5 days of incubation. Alternative methods have, therefore, to be developed to investigate the disease and the pathogenicity of mucosalis.
