Identification of Brevibacterium from clinical sources

Coryneform bacteria of the genus Brevibacterium occur on the normal skin surface, but reports of human infection with this genus are lacking. A number of cultures of coryneform bacteria sent to the National Collection of Type Cultures for identification have been identified as Brevibacterium spp on the basis of their cell wall composition and ability to produce methane-thiol from L-methionine. We describe a rapid method for the detection of methane-thiol and confirmatory tests which differentiate Brevibacterium from morphologically similar genera.