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Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences Feb 2018Gut microbiota has been recognized to play a beneficial role in honey bees (). Present study was designed to characterize the gut bacterial flora of honey bees in...
Gut microbiota has been recognized to play a beneficial role in honey bees (). Present study was designed to characterize the gut bacterial flora of honey bees in north-west Pakistan. Total 150 aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria from guts of 45 worker bees were characterized using biochemical assays and 16S rDNA sequencing followed by bioinformatics analysis. The gut isolates were classified into three bacterial phyla of Firmicutes (60%), Proteobacteria (26%) and Actinobacteria (14%). Most of the isolates belonged to genera and families of , , , , , , , and . Many of these bacteria were tolerant to acidic environments and fermented sugars, hence considered beneficial gut inhabitants and involved the maintenance of a healthy microbiota. However, several opportunistic commensals that proliferate in the hive environment including members group and were also identified. This is the first report on bee gut microbiota from north-west Pakistan geographically situated at the crossroads of Indian subcontinent and central Asia.
PubMed: 29472796
DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2017.05.008 -
Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection... 2018Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria have emerged as major clinical and therapeutic dilemma in hospitals in Ghana.To describe the prevalence and profile of...
BACKGROUND
Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria have emerged as major clinical and therapeutic dilemma in hospitals in Ghana.To describe the prevalence and profile of infections attributable to multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria among patients at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in the Ashanti region of Ghana.
METHODS
Bacterial cultures were randomly selected from the microbiology laboratory from February to August, 2015. Bacterial identification and minimum inhibitory concentrations were conducted using standard microbiological techniques and the Vitek-2 automated system. Patient information was retrieved from the hospital data.
RESULTS
Of the 200 isolates, consisting of , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and , 101 (50.5%) and 99 (49.5%) recovered from male and female patients respectively The largest proportion of patients were from age-group ≥60 years (24.5%) followed by < 10 years (24.0%) and least 10-19 years (9.5%) with a mean patient age of 35.95 ± 27.11 (0.2-91) years. The decreasing order of specimen source was urine 97 (48.5%), wound swabs 47 (23.5%), sputum 22 (11.0%) bronchial lavage, nasal and pleural swabs 1 (0.50%). Urinary tract infection was diagnosed in 34.5% of patients, sepsis in 14.5%, wound infections (surgical and chronic wounds) in 11.0%, pulmonary tuberculosis in 9.0% and appendicitis, bacteremia and cystitis in 0.50%. The isolates showed high resistance to ampicillin (94.4%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (84.5%), cefuroxime (79.0%) and cefotaxime (71.3%) but low resistance to ertapenem (1.5%), meropenem (3%) and amikacin (11%). The average multi-drug resistance was 89.5%, and ranged from 53.8% in spp. to 100.0% in spp. and .
CONCLUSION
Bacterial infections caused by multi-drug resistant (isolates resistant to at least one agent in three or more antibiotic classes) Gram-negative pathogens among patients at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana are rife and interventions are necessary for their containment.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacteremia; Child; Child, Preschool; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Female; Ghana; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections; Hospitals, Teaching; Humans; Infant; Male; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Middle Aged; Providencia; Sepsis; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary; Urinary Tract Infections; Wound Infection; Young Adult
PubMed: 29541448
DOI: 10.1186/s13756-018-0324-2 -
Marine Drugs Jul 2015The Search for enzyme activities that efficiently degrade marine polysaccharides is becoming an increasingly important area for both structural analysis and production...
The Search for enzyme activities that efficiently degrade marine polysaccharides is becoming an increasingly important area for both structural analysis and production of lower-molecular weight oligosaccharides. In this study, an endo-acting fucoidanase that degrades Miyeokgui fucoidan (MF), a sulfated galactofucan isolated from the sporophyll (called Miyeokgui in Korean) of Undaria pinnatifida, into smaller-sized galactofuco-oligosaccharides (1000-4000 Da) was purified from a marine bacterium, Sphingomonas paucimobilis PF-1, by ammonium sulfate precipitation, diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-Sepharose column chromatography, and chromatofocusing. The specific activity of this enzyme was approximately 112-fold higher than that of the crude enzyme, and its molecular weight was approximately 130 kDa (FNase S), as determined by native gel electrophoresis and 130 (S1), 70 (S2) and 60 (S3) kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The optimum pH and temperature of FNase S were pH 6.0-7.0 and 40-45 °C, respectively. FNase S activity was enhanced by Mn2+ and Na+ (115.7% and 131.2%), but it was inhibited by Ca2+, K+, Ba2+, Cu2+ (96%, 83.7%, 84.3%, and 89.3%, respectively), each at 1 mM. The Km, Vmax and Kcat values of FNase S on MF were 1.7 mM, 0.62 mg·min-1, and 0.38·S-1, respectively. This enzyme could be a valuable tool for the structural analysis of fucoidans and production of bioactive fuco-oligosaccharides.
Topics: Aquatic Organisms; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Glycoside Hydrolases; Molecular Weight; Polysaccharides; Sphingomonas; Substrate Specificity
PubMed: 26193285
DOI: 10.3390/md13074398 -
Journal of Ophthalmic Inflammation and... Mar 2023Over the past 20 years, scattered reports have emerged about a low virulence, gram negative bacillus, Sphingomonas paucimobilis, causing unpredictable clinical...
Over the past 20 years, scattered reports have emerged about a low virulence, gram negative bacillus, Sphingomonas paucimobilis, causing unpredictable clinical presentations of endophthalmitis. Previous reports have characterised the organism as being resistant to aggressive treatment and prone to recurrence up to several months later, with few warning signs of any residual infection. We report a case of a 75 year-old male who returned 10 days after a left eye cataract surgery with an atypical, indolent endophthalmitis. He was treated with broad-spectrum intravitreal antibiotics and vitrectomy, and despite initial improvement, the patient suffered a recurrence after 2 weeks, necessitating successive rounds of intravitreal antibiotics. While our patient was able to achieve an excellent final visual acuity of 6/9, there are several cases in the literature reporting similar cases with much worse visual outcomes. Further research is required to elucidate early warning signs that may indicate a recurrence of S. paucimobilis infection, and the underlying mechanism by which it is resistant to standard endophthalmitis therapy. Alongside this case, we review and summarise the literature on postoperative endophthalmitis involving this organism.
PubMed: 36872422
DOI: 10.1186/s12348-023-00325-6 -
Parasitology Research Jan 2017Pathogenic free-living amoebae (FLA), such as Naegleria fowleri, Balamuthia mandrillaris and Acanthamoeba species isolated from aquatic environments have been implicated...
Pathogenic free-living amoebae (FLA), such as Naegleria fowleri, Balamuthia mandrillaris and Acanthamoeba species isolated from aquatic environments have been implicated in central nervous system, eye and skin human infections. They also allow the survival, growth and transmission of bacteria such as Legionella, Mycobacteria and Vibrio species in water systems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the co-occurrence of potentially pathogenic FLA and their associated bacteria in hospital water networks in Johannesburg, South Africa. A total of 178 water (n = 95) and swab (n = 83) samples were collected from two hospital water distribution systems. FLA were isolated using the amoebal enrichment technique and identified using PCR and 18S rDNA sequencing. Amoebae potentially containing intra-amoebal bacteria were lysed and cultured on blood agar plates. Bacterial isolates were characterized using the VITEK®2 compact System. Free-living amoebae were isolated from 77 (43.3 %) of the samples. Using microscopy, PCR and 18S rRNA sequencing, Acanthamoeba spp. (T3 and T20 genotypes), Vermamoeba vermiformis and Naegleria gruberi specie were identified. The Acanthamoeba T3 and T20 genotypes have been implicated in eye and central nervous system infections. The most commonly detected bacterial species were Serratia marcescens, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Delftia acidovorans, Sphingomonas paucimobilis and Comamonas testosteroni. These nosocomial pathogenic bacteria are associated with systematic blood, respiratory tract, the urinary tract, surgical wounds and soft tissues infections. The detection of FLA and their associated opportunistic bacteria in the hospital water systems point out to a potential health risk to immune-compromised individuals.
Topics: Amoeba; Bacteria; Cross Infection; Fresh Water; Hospitals; Humans; South Africa
PubMed: 27730363
DOI: 10.1007/s00436-016-5271-3 -
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Dec 2022In this study, an efficient mutagenesis and rapid screening method of high-yield gellan gum mutant by atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) treatment combined...
In this study, an efficient mutagenesis and rapid screening method of high-yield gellan gum mutant by atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) treatment combined with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) was proposed. A NIRS model for the on-line detection of gellan gum yield was constructed by joint interval partial least squares (siPLS) regression on the basis of chemical determination and NIRS acquisition of gellan gum yield. Five genetically stable mutant strains were screened using the on-line NIRS detection of gellan gum yield in the fermentation from approximately 600 mutant strains induced by ARTP. Remarkably, compared with the original strain, the gellan gum yield of mutant strain 519 was 9.427 g/L (increased by 133.5%) under the optimal fermentation conditions, which was determined by single-factor and response surface optimization. Therefore, the method of ARTP mutation combined with the NIRS model can be used to screen high-yield mutant strains of gellan gum and other high-yield polysaccharide strains.
PubMed: 36553820
DOI: 10.3390/foods11244078 -
Evidence-based Complementary and... 2022Mobile phones have become an indispensable part of human lives for communication, education, and entertainment activities. This study aims to evaluate the diversity...
Mobile phones have become an indispensable part of human lives for communication, education, and entertainment activities. This study aims to evaluate the diversity pattern of bacterial contaminants on mobiles and to check antibiotic resistance profiles in 105 samples. The study revealed a contamination of 51% in men and 49% in women, the highest in the 21- to 30-year age group, evidencing the extreme use of mobiles by teenagers. The study observed Gram-negative bacteria (63%) versus Gram-positive bacteria (37%). Overall, Gram-negative bacterial isolates showed the highest sensitivity to antibiotic nitrofurantoin (90%) and the lowest in ampicillin (35%). Gram positive has highest incidence of sensitivity towards tigecycline (100%) and lowest in cefoxitin (20%). ESL producers were found to be 21.0% and highest being in (35%) followed by (31%). have been identified on the mobile phones for the very first time. Interestingly, some soil microbes were also isolated and unfortunately found to have some antibiotic resistance like and . The results revealed that mobiles were contaminated with multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, and this study also showed that few of the saprophytic soil strains have antibiotic resistance, which can be an alarming situation that needs to be addressed.
PubMed: 35668788
DOI: 10.1155/2022/1527488 -
Journal of Microbiology, Immunology,... Aug 2011Sphingomonas paucimobilis is rarely isolated from clinical specimens and it is associated with a great variety of infections. The aim of this study is to investigate the...
BACKGROUND
Sphingomonas paucimobilis is rarely isolated from clinical specimens and it is associated with a great variety of infections. The aim of this study is to investigate the microbiological and clinical features of S paucimobilis infection in southern Taiwan.
METHODS
S paucimobilis isolates from the microbiology laboratory of Chi-Mei Medical Center and their relevant clinical data from October 2005 to October 2009 were retrospectively reviewed.
RESULTS
A total of 55 patients with documented S paucimobilis infections were identified. Among them, 29 (52.7%) have community-acquired infections and 13 of them presented with primary bacteremia (44.8%). Multivariate logistic regression showed that community-acquired infection [adjusted odds ratio 13.473, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.79-101.41, p = 0.01], diabetes mellitus (adjusted odds ratio 7.03, 95% CI 1.16-42.66, p = 0.03), and alcoholism (adjusted OR 10.87, 95% CI 1.00-117.69, p = 0.05) were significant risk factors for S paucimobilis primary bacteremia. Most of those who have health care-associated S paucimobilis infections presented with pneumonia (10 of 26, 38.5%) and only 7.7% presented with catheter-related infection. The overall mortality rate was 5.5%.
CONCLUSION
Community-acquired S paucimobilis infections were not uncommon, mainly presenting with primary bacteremia. Multivariate analysis showed that community-acquired infection, diabetes mellitus, and alcoholism were significant risk factors for primary bacteremia.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Bacteremia; Chi-Square Distribution; Community-Acquired Infections; Cross Infection; Female; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Odds Ratio; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Sphingomonas
PubMed: 21524965
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmii.2010.08.007 -
Case Reports in Infectious Diseases 2020A 47-year-old male with no significant medical history was hospitalized for bacteremia and diagnosed with endocarditis. The organism isolated was a Gram-negative...
A 47-year-old male with no significant medical history was hospitalized for bacteremia and diagnosed with endocarditis. The organism isolated was a Gram-negative bacillus-. There are only a few reported cases of endocarditis caused by , and to our knowledge, this is the first in the United States.
PubMed: 33101743
DOI: 10.1155/2020/7185834 -
Microbiology and Immunology 1990Based on the partial nucleotide sequence analysis of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA), presence of unique sphingoglycolipids in cellular lipid, and the major type... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Proposals of Sphingomonas paucimobilis gen. nov. and comb. nov., Sphingomonas parapaucimobilis sp. nov., Sphingomonas yanoikuyae sp. nov., Sphingomonas adhaesiva sp. nov., Sphingomonas capsulata comb. nov., and two genospecies of the genus Sphingomonas.
Based on the partial nucleotide sequence analysis of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA), presence of unique sphingoglycolipids in cellular lipid, and the major type of ubiquinone (Q10), we propose Sphingomonas gen. nov. with the type species Sphingomonas paucimobilis (Holmes et al, 1977) comb. nov. From the homology values of deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization and the phenotypic characteristics, three new species, Sphingomonas parapaucimobilis, Sphingomonas yanoikuyae, Sphingomonas adhaesiva, and one new combination, Sphingomonas capsulata, are described. S. parapaucimobilis JCM 7510 (= GIFU 11387), S. yanoikuyae JCM 7371 (= GIFU 9882), and S. adhaesiva JCM 7370 (= GIFU 11458) are designated as the type strains of the three new species. Emended description of the type strain of S. capsulata is presented.
Topics: Base Composition; Base Sequence; Cluster Analysis; DNA, Bacterial; Fatty Acids; Flavobacterium; Glycosphingolipids; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Sequence Data; Phenotype; Pseudomonas; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; RNA, Ribosomal; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
PubMed: 2111872
DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1990.tb00996.x