actinomycetes Biol.
(ˈæktɪnəʊmaɪˈsiːtiːz, sometimes anglicized to -ˈmaɪsiːts)
[f. actino- + mycetes.]
A group of minute organisms of the order Actinomycetales, commonly held to be filamentous bacteria; treated as sing. (of less common occurrence) actinomycete.
| 1916 Jrnl. Bacteriol. I. 197 (title) Possible Function of Actinomycetes in Soil. 1919 S. A. Waksman in Jrnl. Bacteriol. IV. 189 Studies in the metabolism of the actinomycetes. 1935 Lancet 2 Nov. 1014/2 (title) Pathogenic Actinomycetes. 1947 C. E. Skinner et al. Henrici's Molds, Yeasts, & Actinomycetes (ed. 2) 351 The term actinomycete we write in the lower case to indicate that it is not used in a taxonomic sense but somewhat in the manner we would use yeast or mold. 1950 Lancet 22 July 138/1 The actinomycetes, a heterogeneous group comprising many thousands of species, are found in soil (in which they may represent nearly a quarter of the cultivable micro-organisms), in dust, fresh water, and lake bottoms, in decaying plant and animal residues, and on vegetation. |