Table 3. Phenotypic characteristics of Clavibacter michiganensis subspecies [5, 6, 18, 19].
| Characteristic | C. michiganensissubsp.michiganensis | C. m. subsp. insidiosus | C. m. subsp. nebraskensis | C. m. subsp. sepedonicus | C. m. subsp. tessellarius | C. m. subsp. capsici |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major host plant | Tomato | Alfalfa | Maize | Potato | Wheat | Pepper |
| Colony pigment | Yellow* | Yellow/blue | Orange/yellow | White | Orange | Orange |
| Colony type | Fluidal | Fluidal | Domed, mucoid | Fluidal | Domed, mucoid | Mucoid |
| Growth on CNS | + | − | + | − | + | n/a |
| Growth on TTC | + | + | − | − | + | + |
| Gelatin liquefaction | + | − | − | − | −† | n/a |
| Levan production | − | − | + | − | + | + |
| Acid from sorbitol | − | − | + | + | + | n/a |
| Acid from mannitol | − | − | − | + | +† | n/a |
| Utilization of melibiose | + | − | + | − | − | + |
| Utilization of trehalose | w | + | + | + | + | + |
| Utilization of fucose | + | − | − | − | − | − |
| Utilization of acetate | + | − | + | + | − | n/a |
| Utilization of glycerol | + | + | + | − | + | n/a |
| Utilization of succinate | + | − | + | + | −† | n/a |
| Hydrolysis of aesculin | + | + | + | + | + | n/a |
| Alkaline phosphatase activity | + | − | + | ± | + | + |
| α-Mannosidase activity | − | + | − | − | − | w |
CNS, Corynebacterium nebraskense semi-selective medium [28]; TTC, 2,3,5 triphenyl tetrazolium chloride medium [29].
*Also various other pigments (e.g. pink, red, orange, white or colourless).
†This work; w, less than 50 % positive results; n/a, not available.