(n) the type genus of the family Corynebacteriaceae which is widely distributed in nature; the best known are parasites and pathogens of humans and domestic animals
n. (MIcrobiol.) Any member of the genus Corynebacterium, consisting of gram-positive usually nonmotile irregularly rod-shaped bacteria, some of which are pathogenic or parasitic in humans and domestic animals, such as Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which causes diphtheria. [ PJC ]