Identification of Acinetobacter isolates using the Biolog identification system

The Biolog system was assessed for its ability to identify genospecies of Acinetobacter from a wastewater treatment plant. A success rate of 83% was achieved in identifying to genus level, but different genospecies identifications were obtained, with the possible exception of genospecies 7, when the results were compared with other published phenotypic identification schemes.     

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Cryptosporidium species and isolates

Recent outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis from contaminated water supplies have led to a need for the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts from various hosts and contaminating sources. The presence of nonpathogenic species or strains of Cryptosporidium is important for diagnostic purposes as there is a potential for false-positive detection of pathogenic parasites. The present review focuses on phenotypic differences and recent advances in genotypic analyses of the genus Cryptosporidium with an emphasis on detecting various isolates and identifying differences in Cryptosporidium parvum and other species in this genus. The information currently available demonstrates important patterns in DNA sequences of Cryptosporidium, and our understanding of macro- and microevolutionary patterns has increased in recent years. However, current knowledge of Cryptosporidium genetic diversity is far from complete, and the large amount of both phenotypic and genotypic data has led to problems in our understanding of the systematics of this genus. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2001) 26, 95–106. Received 18 March 2000/ Accepted in revised form 13 August 2000     

Numerical classification and identification of Acinetobacter genomic species

A total of 211 Acinetobacter strains (representing all currently recognized genomic species) were tested for 329 biochemical characters. Overall similarities of all strains were determined for 145 characters by numerical taxonomic techniques, the UPGMA algorithm and the S _SM and the S _J coefficients as measures of similarity. Seven clusters (two or more strains) and three unclustered strains were recovered at a similarity level of 80.0% ( S _SM). At this level a complete correspondence between phenotypic cluster and genomic species was found only for genomic species 12 ( Ac. radioresistens ). At higher similarity levels (84.0% to 84.6% ( S _SM)), however, several subclusters were found, each representing a single genomic species. An exception were the strains belonging to the genetically closely related species of the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii complex. These were recovered scattered in several subclusters. The degree of genomic relatedness between some DNA groups correlated with phenotypic similarities, especially for DNA group 8 ( Ac. lwoffii ) and 15 of Tjernberg and Ursing, and for DNA group 4 ( Ac. haemolyticus ) and 6.
For the majority of genomic species, two identification matrices were constructed consisting of 22 and 10 diagnostic characters, respectively. The correct identification rates for the matrices were 98.0% (22 tests) and 90.8% (10 tests) taking a Willcox probability >0.9. For unambiguous identification of some genomic species, however, additional methods (preferably DNA-DNA hybridization or ribotyping) should be used.     

Phenotypic and molecular identification of Sporothrix isolates of clinical origin in Northeast China

Sporotrichosis is the most common deep mycosis in Northeast China which is an area of high epidemicity due to contact with reeds or cornstalks. In this study, we have characterized a total of 74 clinical isolates from fixed cutaneous, lymphocutaneous and disseminated clinical forms and from Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces, respectively. All isolates (previously as Sporothrix schenckii) were identified as Sporothrix globosa according to their phenotypic characteristics and calmodulin gene sequences analysis. They were subdivided into two sub-clades (S. globosa I and S. globosa II). Most of our isolates (71/74) presented restricted growth at 37 °C, which differed from a previous report. Up to now, S. globosa is the only pathogenic species in Northeast China, no matter what kind of clinical form and which region it is isolated from. Most of our clinical isolates (68/74) were clustered with three Chinese environmental isolates reported in the literature. The new findings of S. globosa isolates on division and thermotolerance at 37 °C described in this study will help us gain a better understanding of S. globosa.     

The rapid identification of Acinetobacter species using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

AIMS: Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) was used to analyse a selection of Acinetobacter isolates in order to determine if this approach could discriminate readily between the known genomic species of this genus and environmental isolates from activated sludge. METHODS AND RESULTS: FT-IR spectroscopy is a rapid whole-organism fingerprinting method, typically taking only 10 s per sample, and generates 'holistic' biochemical profiles (or 'fingerprints') from biological materials. The cluster analysis produced by FT-IR was compared with previous polyphasic taxonomic studies on these isolates and with 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region (ISR) fingerprinting presented in this paper. FT-IR and 16S-23S rDNA ISR analyses together indicate that some of the Acinetobacter genomic species are particularly heterogeneous and poorly defined, making characterization of the unknown environmental isolates with the genomic species difficult. CONCLUSIONS: Whilst the characterization of the isolates from activated sludge revealed by FT-IR and 16S-23S rDNA ISR were not directly comparable, the dendrogram produced from FT-IR data did correlate well with the outcomes of the other polyphasic taxonomic work. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: We believe it would be advantageous to pursue this approach further and establish a comprehensive database of taxonomically well-defined Acinetobacter species to aid the identification of unknown strains. In this instance, FT-IR may provide the rapid identification method eagerly sought for the routine identification of Acinetobacter isolates from a wide range of environmental sources.     

PCR genotyping of Acinetobacter hospital isolates

A total of 13 Acinetobacter baumannii-13TU isolates obtained from patients of the Perm regional clinical hospital during the period of 1 year, were genotyped in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with universal primers. Acinetobacter cultures could not be distinguished by phenotypic tests and antibiogram and were resistant to B-lactams and gentamicin. According to the results of amplification the obtained isolates could be subdivided into two groups (with 6 and 7 respectively). The detection of "epidemic" strains, including those capable of prolonged (for more than 5 months) persistence in hospital environment, may be indicative of the growing role of Acinetobacter as the causative agent in nosocomial infection.     

Reliable identification at the species level of Brucella isolates with MALDI-TOF-MS

Background

Brucella abortus is the etiological agent of a worldwide zoonosis called brucellosis. This alpha-proteobacterium is dividing asymmetrically, and PdhS, an essential histidine kinase, was reported to be an old pole marker.

Results

We were interested to identify functions that could be recruited to bacterial poles. The Brucella ORFeome, a collection of cloned predicted coding sequences, was placed in fusion with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) coding sequence and screened for polar localizations in B. abortus. We report that AidB-YFP was systematically localized to the new poles and at constrictions sites in B. abortus, either in culture or inside infected HeLa cells or RAW264.7 macrophages. AidB is an acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (ACAD) homolog, similar to E. coli AidB, an enzyme putatively involved in destroying alkylating agents. Accordingly, a B. abortus aidB mutant is more sensitive than the wild-type strain to the lethality induced by methanesulphonic acid ethyl ester (EMS). The exposure to EMS led to a very low frequency of constriction events, suggesting that cell cycle is blocked during alkylation damage. The localization of AidB-YFP at the new poles and at constriction sites seems to be specific for this ACAD homolog since two other ACAD homologs fused to YFP did not show specific localization. The overexpression of aidB, but not the two other ACAD coding sequences, leads to multiple morphological defects.

Conclusions

Data reported here suggest that AidB is a marker of new poles and constriction sites, that could be considered as sites of preparation of new poles in the sibling cells originating from cell division. The possible role of AidB in the generation or the function of new poles needs further investigation.     

Phosphate uptake kinetics by Acinetobacter isolates

Acinetobacter isolates from activated sludge treatment plants of forest industry were used as model organisms for polyphosphate accumulating bacteria to study excess phosphate uptake by the overplus phenomenon as well as luxury uptake of phosphate during growth. The initial, rapid phosphate uptake by the phosphorus-starved Acinetobacter isolates (the overplus phenomenon) followed the Michaelis-Menten model (maximum initial phosphate uptake rate 29 mg P g(-1) dry mass (DM) h(-1), half-saturation constant for excess phosphate uptake 17 mg P L(-1)). During the rapid uptake no growth was observed, but most cells contained polyphosphate granules. Also growth and luxury uptake of phosphate could be modeled with the Michaelis-Menten equation (maximum phosphate uptake rate 3.7-12 mg P g(-1) DM h(-1), half-saturation constant for growth 0.47-6.0 mg P L(-1), maximum specific growth rate 0.15-0.55 h(-1)). (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 53: 304-309, 1997.     

Comparison of ARDRA and recA-RFLP analysis for genomic species identification of Acinetobacter spp.

The genus Acinetobacter is subdivided into genospecies on the basis of DNA relatedness of strains. Phenotypic tests are insufficient to identify the genospecies to which an isolate belongs. The effectiveness of two previously described PCR-based methods for genospeciating Acinetobacter spp. was compared using a group of 32 well-characterised strains representing six genospecies. Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) correctly identified all 32 strains. Using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of recA PCR amplimers, only six of the 32 strains were correctly identified. Heterogeneity in the recA gene sequence was demonstrated within five of the genospecies. ARDRA proved to be a reliable method whereas analysis of recA RFLP profiles did not enable the genospecies of most of the isolates of Acinetobacter spp. to be determined.     

Phenotypic characteristics of rhizobia isolates nodulating acacia species in the arid and Saharan regions of Morocco

The phenotypic characteristics of 48 isolates obtained from root nodules of four Acacia species (Acacia cyanophylla, A. gummifera, A. horrida and A. raddiana) growing in soils collected from the arid and Saharan regions of Morocco were studied. The rhizobia were very diverse with respect to their cross-nodulation patterns, as well as their physiological and biochemical properties. Dendrograms obtained through computer numerical analysis of 52 phenotypic characteristics showed that isolates could fit into four clusters below the boundary level of 0.85 average distance and that they were very distinct from the reference strains. Some interesting isolates for inoculation trials have been identified. They were able to grow at pH ranging from 4 to 9, tolerate a high salt concentration (3% NaCl) and grew at a maximum temperature between 35 and 40 degrees C.     

A riboprinting scheme for identification of unknown Acanthamoeba isolates at species level

We describe a riboprinting scheme for identification of unknown Acanthamoeba isolates at the species level. It involved the use of PCR-RFLP of small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (riboprint) of 24 reference strains by 4 kinds of restriction enzymes. Seven strains in morphological group I and III were identified at species level with their unique sizes of PCR product and riboprint type by Rsa I. Unique RFCP of 17 strains in group II by Dde I, Taq I and Hae III were classified into: (1) four taxa that were identifiable at the species level, (2) a subgroup of 4 taxa and a pair of 2 taxa that were identical with each other, and (3) a species complex of 7 taxa assigned to A. castellanii complex that were closely related. These results were consistent with those obtained by 18s rDNA sequence analysis. This approach provides an alternative to the rDNA sequencing for rapid identification of a new clinical isolate or a large number of environmental isolates of Acanthamoeba.     

Phenotypic characterization of Leuconostoc species

A numerical taxonomic analysis was performed on 81 strains belonging to the Gram-positive, heterofermentative genus Leuconostoc . These came from different raw milk samples used for cheese manufacture, milk starters, wine and culture collections. Strains were examined for 197 phenotypic characters. On the basis of carbohydrate fermentation, citrate use and dextran production, all the strains were recovered in three clusters at a similarity level of 38% Sj. One cluster was composed entirely of the 11 L. mesenteroides subsp. cremoris strains, characterized by a poor carbohydrate fermentation capacity. The second cluster was very heterogeneous: it contained 60 strains that fermented many carbohydrates, but it was not possible to discriminate between the named species. The third cluster consisted of the 10 L. oenos strains. The addition of antibiotic resistance responses and enzymatic profiles (arylamidase, esterase and hydrolase activities) yielded no significant difference between the strains and did not allow a better discrimination. Only the attribution of a taxonomic weight to some carbohydrate fermentation tests and the use of genetic analyses can resolve the strain identification.     

鲍曼不动杆菌耐消毒剂基因检测

目的 了解深圳市人医院鲍曼不动杆菌抗季铵盐类消毒剂基因的检出率及基因型特点.方法 收集深圳市人民医院临床标本中分离鲍曼不动杆菌67株,PCR检测分离株的qacA/B、qacE△1、qacC、qacG和qacJ 5种抗季铵盐类消毒剂基因.结果 67株鲍曼不动杆菌中qacE△l基因阳性42株(62.6％),qacA/B与qacG基因各有一菌株阳性,未检测出qacC或qacJ基因阳性菌株.结论 深圳市人医院鲍曼不动杆菌中抗季铵盐类消毒剂基因检出率较高,主要为qacE△1型.     

Combination of ARDRA and RAPD genotyping techniques in identification of Acinetobacter spp. genomic species

A total of 10 non-repetitive multi-drug-resist-ant Acinetobacter strains were collected. With reference to A. calcoaceticus (ATCC23055), A. baumannii (ATCC19606), A. lwoffii (ATCC17986), and A. junii (NCTC5866), DNA fingerprint technique, amplified ribo-somal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), and random amplified polymorphism DNA (RAPD) were carried out to identify the genomic species of Acinetobacter spp. The distances between them were calculated by the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic (UPGMA). Genotypes ofAcinetobacter spp. were effectively classified and an A. junii together with nine A. baumannii isolates was genomically identified. The combination of ARDRA and RAPD DNA-fingerprint technique shows high com-plementarity, and could be a useful tool in Acinetobacter genomic species identification.     

Molecular characterization of clinical Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates and their association with non-clinical strains

We assessed the molecular characterization of 96 clinical isolates of S. cerevisiae from a Spanish medical institution and we compared them with 6 non-clinical strains isolated from wine, beer and bread and 1 S. boulardii strain collected from a commercial preparation. The strains were subjected to HinfI mtDNA restriction analysis and PCR amplification of delta sequences. Although both techniques are appropriate for routine clinical analysis, that based on PCR turned out to be the most discriminating. This study, apart from providing tools for clinical application, deals with the relationships between clinical and non-clinical strains. The two baker's yeasts analysed shared mtDNA and PCR patterns with a group of 31 clinical isolates. An exogenous entry of a strain was also reflected in the case of 19 clinical isolates and the therapeutic strain S. boulardii. Both baker's yeasts and S. boulardii were identified respectively among 32.3% and 19.8% of the clinical isolates and there seemed to be a connection between their ability to colonize humans and their ability to cause vaginal infection. The rest of food isolates were not grouped with clinical strains.     

Adherence and motility characteristics of clinical Acinetobacter baumannii isolates

Acinetobacter baumannii continues to be a major health problem especially in hospital settings. Herein, features that may play a role in persistence and disease potential were investigated in a collection of clinical A. baumannii strains from Australia. Twitching motility was found to be a common trait in A. baumannii international clone I strains and in abundant biofilm formers, whereas swarming motility was only observed in isolates not classified within the international clone lineages. Bioinformatic analysis of the type IV fimbriae revealed a correlation between PilA sequence homology and motility. A high level of variability in adherence to both abiotic surfaces and epithelial cells was found. We report for the first time the motility characteristics of a large number of A. baumannii isolates and present a direct comparison of A. baumannii binding to nasopharyngeal and lung epithelial cells.     

鲍曼不动杆菌中OXA碳青霉烯酶的表型筛选与PCR检测

摘要：目的 了解OXA碳青霉烯酶在暨南大学附属第一医院耐亚胺培南鲍曼不动杆菌中的流行状况,完善OXA碳青霉烯酶的分子流行病学资料。方法 采用改良Hodge试验筛选产碳青霉烯酶菌株,多重PCR法检测OXA碳青霉烯酶的编码基因（blaOXA-23-like、blaOXA-24-like、blaOXA-58-like和blaOXA-143）,利用生物信息学的方法对OXA亚型进行比对分析并制作分子进化树。结果 在157株耐亚胺培南鲍曼不动杆菌中Hodge试验筛选出碳青霉烯酶表型阳性菌株141株,PCR检测结果显示有132株携带OXA-23编码基因,未检测到OXA-24-like、OXA-58-like和OXA-143亚型。结论 产OXA-23碳青霉烯酶是该院鲍曼不动杆菌对亚胺培南耐药的主要机制之一。     

Phenotypic homogeneity of emetic Bacillus cereus isolates in China

Emetic Bacillus cereus strains produce a potent cereulide cytotoxin, which can cause acute and fatal cases of food poisoning. We isolated 18 emetic B. cereus strains from a food poisoning event, and from clinical and non-random food surveillance in China and phenotypic characteristics of haemolysis, starch hydrolysis, salicin fermentation, gelatin liquefaction, cytotoxicity, and susceptibility to antibiotics were assessed. All isolates were positive for haemolysis and gelatin liquefaction, and negative for starch hydrolysis and salicin fermentation. Their haemolytic potentials were intermediate to Bacillus anthracis and B. cereus ATCC 14579 (a non-emetic strain). All isolates were cytotoxic to CHO, Hep-2, and Vero cells, and were sensitive to ampicillin. The homogeneous phenotypes of emetic isolates from China are similar to the corresponding traits of European and Japanese isolates that have been characterized, suggesting highly similar phenotypes of emetic B. cereus worldwide.