Corynebacterium minutissimum
Encyclopedia
Corynebacterium minutissimum is a species of corynebacterium
.
It is associated with erythrasma
, a type of skin rash. It can be distinguished from similar-appearing rashes by exposing the area to the light of a Wood's lamp; C. minutissimum produces porphyrin
s that fluoresce coral-red.
Corynebacterium
Corynebacterium is a genus of Gram-positive rod-shaped bacteria. They are widely distributed in nature and are mostly innocuous. Some are useful in industrial settings such as C. glutamicum. Others can cause human disease. C...
.
It is associated with erythrasma
Erythrasma
Erythrasma is a skin disease that causes brown, scaly skin patches. It is caused by the gram positive bacterium Corynebacterium minutissimum.It is prevalent among diabetics, the obese, and in warm climates and is worsened by wearing occlusive clothing....
, a type of skin rash. It can be distinguished from similar-appearing rashes by exposing the area to the light of a Wood's lamp; C. minutissimum produces porphyrin
Porphyrin
Porphyrins are a group of organic compounds, many naturally occurring. One of the best-known porphyrins is heme, the pigment in red blood cells; heme is a cofactor of the protein hemoglobin. Porphyrins are heterocyclic macrocycles composed of four modified pyrrole subunits interconnected at...
s that fluoresce coral-red.