Nocardia brasiliensis: mycetoma induction and growth cycle.

The capacity of Nocardia brasiliensis to induce mycetoma in BALB/c mice in the absence of adjuvants was studied. Whether the virulence of N. brasiliensis varied in the different phases of its growth cycle was also determined. The results showed that N. brasiliensis suspended in 0.15 M NaCl and injected into the footpads of mice were able to induce mycetoma after only 14 days of infection, as evidenced by histological studies. Data are also presented indicating that the virulence of N. brasiliensis did not vary during the different phases of its growth curve. The differences in virulence reported between N. brasiliensis and other nocardiae are discussed and explained in terms of several variables in the experimental designs used: among these variables are mouse genotype, route of inoculation, and model for determining virulence.