Over a 1-year period, 11 isolates (including 5 from blood cultures) of the recently described CDC group 3 and group 5 coryneform bacteria were derived from clinical specimens and compared with reference strains. Biochemical characteristics indicated a very close relationship between CDC group 3 and group 5 coryneform bacteria. The ability of CDC group 3 and the inability of CDC group 5 coryneform bacteria to ferment xylose were the only reactions that were different for the two taxa. Chemotaxonomic features of the two groups included the presence of meso-diaminopimelic acid, a lack of mycolic acids, and the presence of predominantly branched cellular fatty acids, a combination found among gram-positive rods only in Brevibacterium spp., Brachybacterium faecium, and Dermabacter hominis. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that CDC group 3 and group 5 coryneform bacteria are members of the genus Dermabacter, which to date has been isolated exclusively from human skin.
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Funke et al. (1994) studied this question.