The first recognised species in this genus was initially named Micrococcus caseolyticus by Evans in 1916. It was then renamed Staphylococcus caseolyticus by Schleifer et al in 1982. It received its current designation in 1998 by Kloos et al.
Description
Members of the genus Macrococcus are Gram-positive, nonmotile, non-spore-forming cocci that are coagulase negative and catalase positive. They can be distinguished phenotypically from most staphylococci on the basis of their cellular morphology and their positive cytochrome c oxidase reaction. Species in this genus are resistant to bacitracin and lysozyme and sensitive to furazolidone. The DNA base content is 38–45 mol% G+C. The cell walls lack teichoic acid. They are usually unencapsulated. The type species is Macrococcus equipercicus.
Genome
The first genome of this genus was sequenced in 2009
Evolution
This genus is the closest known relation of the genus Staphylococcus. Within Staphylococcus, the closest relations of Macrococcus appear to be the Staphylococcus sciuri group.
Clinical
This genus is not known to cause human disease. A methicillin resistance gene has been identified in this genus. The significance of this discovery is not yet clear.
Etymology
The name Macrococcus is a masculine New Latin nouncomposed of the Greek adjective makros meaning "large" and the Neolatin masculine nouncoccus intended to mean a coccus shaped bacterium, as it comes from the Greek masculine noun kokkos meaning "berry", consequently the noun Macrococcus, means "large coccus". The eymology of the epithet of the 8 species contained in the genus are:
For M. bovicus, the epithet is the masculine form of bovicus, -a, -um, a Neolatin adjective derived from the Latin noun bos, bovis meaning "cow", given that the type strain was isolated from a cow.
For M. brunensis, the Latin masculine adjective brunensis meaning from Bruna, the Roman name of the city of Brünn in the Czech Republic, where the type strain was isolated.
M. canis
For M. carouselicus, the Neolatin adjective carouselicus meaning "pertaining " to a carousel".
For M. caseolyticus, the epithet is a Neolatin adjective which is a combination of the Latin noun caseus meaning "cheese" and the Neolatin adjective lyticus meaning "able to dissolve", to mean "casein-dissolving".
For M. equipercicus, the epithet is a Neolatin adjective, meaning "pertaining to Percy, the horse", composed of the Latin noun equus, -i meaning "horse" and the Neolatinised English proper name "Percy" to Percus, -i, which is the name of the Irish thoroughbred horse from which the species was isolated.
