Identification of actinomycetes isolated from cases of bovine farcy in the Sudan.

Thirteen isolates from the lymph nodes of cattle with bovine farcy were examined for biochemical and physiological properties known to differentiate Mycobacterium farcinogenes, Mycobacterium senegalense and Nocardia farcinica. Comparative immunodiffusion studies were performed on all of the test strains, and whole-organism methanolysates from a single representative strain were examined by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography. The results of the biochemical, chemical, physiological and serological studies were all consistent with the assignment of the test strains to the genus Mycobacterium as Mycobacterium farcinogenes. The present study together with earlier ones support the hypothesis that M. farcinogenes and M. senegalense, but not N. farcinica, are the principal agents of bovine farcy.