Identification of motile Aeromonas strains with the MicroScan WalkAway system in conjunction with the combo negative type 1S panels. (25/769)

This study was performed to compare the MicroScan WalkAway automated identification system in conjunction with the new MicroScan Combo Negative type 1S panels with conventional biochemical methods for identifying 85 environmental, clinical, and reference strains of eight Aeromonas species.  (+info)

Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. pectinolytica subsp. nov., a new pectinase-positive subspecies isolated from a heavily polluted river. (26/769)

Aeromonas strains which phenotypically and genetically belong to the Aeromonas salmonicida species but that according to their phenotypic properties constitute a new subspecies have been isolated from the water of a heavily polluted river, the Matanza river, situated near the central district of Buenos Aires city. These strains were ascribed to the A. salmonicida species by using 65 biochemical tests and by DNA-DNA hybridization. They produce acid from -sorbitol, an unusual biochemical property found in a few members of the A. salmonicida species. They also utilize urocanic acid and do not ferment L-rhamnose or utilize LD-lactate, and are elastase- and gluconate-negative. The DNA relatedness was over 70%, the current limit accepted for the phylogenetic definition of a species, to the described A. salmonicida subspecies and nearly 100% within the new group of Aeromonas strains. Phenotypic differentiation from other A. salmonicida subspecies was readily achieved using the following characteristics: growth at 37 degrees C, melanin production, indole and Voges-Proskauer assays, growth on KCN broth, mannitol and sucrose fermentation and gas from glucose. A remarkable property of the strains of the new group was their ability to degrade polypectate, an unusual feature among Aeromonas species in general. The complete 16S rRNA gene of one strain of the new group was sequenced. Comparison with rDNA sequences of Aeromonas members available in databases revealed a close relationship between this strain and strains belonging to A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida, masoucida and achromogenes, in agreement with the biochemical data. Since the new A. salmonicida strains constitute a tight genomic group that can be identified by phenotypic properties it was concluded that they represent a new subspecies for which the name Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. pectinolytica is proposed. The type strain of A. salmonicida subsp. pectinolytica is 34melT (= DSM 12609T).  (+info)

Virulence properties of motile aeromonads isolated from farmed frogs Rana tigerina and R. rugulosa. (27/769)

Virulence factors were compared in Aeromonas species isolated from clinically normal and septicaemic farmed frogs from Thailand. Haemolysin activities against frog erythrocytes were significantly different within the collection of aeromonads. Groups of high haemolytic activity (unspeciated Aeromonas, Au), moderate haemolytic activity (A. hydrophila), and low haemolytic activity (A. veronii biovar sobria, A. veronii biovar veronii, A. caviae, A. schubertii) were noted. DNA colony hybridisation studies revealed that Au isolates possessed a haemolysin gene (ASH1) which was not present in any of the other Thai aeromonads or type strains tested. Elastinolytic activity was demonstrated in 90% of the Au isolates, 60% of the A. hydrophila isolates and in none of the other motile aeromonads. The cytotoxic activity of the Aeromonas isolates varied according to the source of cells used in the assays. Cells from rainbow trout were extremely sensitive to Au toxins but less so to toxins produced by other species. In contrast mammalian cells showed very little sensitivity to Au toxins but were more sensitive to toxins produced by A. hydrophila. Selection of suitable assay substrates is therefore important.  (+info)

Investigation of the role of type IV Aeromonas pilus (Tap) in the pathogenesis of Aeromonas gastrointestinal infection. (28/769)

Although there is substantial evidence that type IV pili purified from diarrhea-associated Aeromonas species (designated Bfp for bundle-forming pilus) are intestinal colonization factors (S. M. Kirov, L. A. O'Donovan, and K. Sanderson, Infect. Immun. 67:5447-5454, 1999), nothing is known regarding the function of a second family of Aeromonas type IV pili (designated Tap for type IV Aeromonas pilus), identified following the cloning of a pilus biogenesis gene cluster tapABCD. Related pilus gene clusters are widely conserved among gram-negative bacteria, but their significance for virulence has been controversial. To investigate the role of Tap pili in Aeromonas pathogenesis, mutants of Aeromonas strains (a fish isolate of A. hydrophila and a human dysenteric isolate of A. veronii bv. sobria) were prepared by insertional inactivation of the tapA gene which encodes the type IV pilus subunit protein, TapA. Exotoxic activities were unaffected by the mutation in tapA. Inactivation of tapA had no effect on the bacterial adherence of these two isolates to HEp-2 cells. For the A. veronii bv. sobria isolate, adhesion to Henle 407 intestinal cells and to human intestinal tissue was also unaffected. There was no significant effect on the duration of colonization or incidence of diarrhea when the A. veronii bv. sobria strain was tested in the removable intestinal tie adult rabbit diarrhea model or on its ability to colonize infant mice. Evidence was obtained that demonstrated that TapA was expressed by both Aeromonas species and was present on the cell surface, although if assembled into pili this pilus type appears to be an uncommon one under standard bacterial growth conditions. Further studies into factors which may influence Tap expression are required, but the present study suggests that Tap pili may not be as significant as Bfp pili for Aeromonas intestinal colonization.  (+info)

Bacterial flora of the hemolymph of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus: numerical taxonomy. (29/769)

Bacteria isolated from the hemolymph of normal blue crabs were found to be predominantly Vibrio sp., Pseudomonas sp., Acinetobacter sp., Bacillus sp., Flavobacterium sp., and coliforms. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a cosmopolitan facultative pathogen widely implicated in outbreaks of gastroenteritis related to the consumption of improperly processed seafood, was present in crabs collected between the months of May to November and was identified in up to 21% of the hemolymphs sampled.  (+info)

Enteropathogenicity of Aeromonas hydrophila and Plesiomonas shigelloides. (30/769)

Aeromonas hydrophila was enteropathogenic in ligated ileal loops of rabbits, causing a fluid accumulation of 1-0 - 2-0 ml per cm of gut length. Gut reaction could be produced with an inoculum as low as 10-4 viable bacteria. There was no difference in the nature of the positive reactions given by strains isolated from diarrhoeal and non-diarrhoeal children and adults and from water. Plesiomonas shigelloides, on the other hand, did nt cause a significant gut reaction. A. hydrophila multiplied in the ileal loop by about 10-5 wheras P. shigelloides did so at only 10-2-3. These experiments on a animal model thus indicated the enteropathogenic nature of A. hydrophilia, but no definite conclusion could be drawn from this study on P. shigelloides.  (+info)

A putative heat-labile enterotoxin expressed by strains of Aeromonas media. (31/769)

Fifteen isolates of Aeromonas media (seven from diarrhoeal stools, four from water and four from superficial skin ulcers of catfish) were examined for enterotoxin production. Ten of these isolates (six diarrhoeal, one from water and three from fish) caused accumulation of fluid in the initial rabbit ileal loop (RIL) tests. Isolates from diarrhoeal stools and fish caused relatively more fluid accumulation than those from water. Those strains that caused little or no fluid accumulation in the initial experiments became enterotoxin producers after one passage through RILs, regardless of source, and also showed gradual enhancement of fluid outpouring after each subsequent passage. Inocula of c. 1 x 10(4) viable cells and 0.25 ml of culture filtrate (CF) caused fluid accumulation similar to that of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae 569B. The enterotoxic factor(s) were inactivated when held at 56 degrees C for 20 min or 65 degrees C for 10 min and showed biological activity over a wide range of pH values. These results suggest that strains of A. media, whether from diarrhoeal stools, water or infected fish, are potentially enterotoxigenic and may have the potential to produce a heat-labile and pH-stable diarrhoeagenic factor in the same way as other known heat-labile and pH-stable enterotoxins.  (+info)

Antimicrobial resistance of mesophilic Aeromonas spp. isolated from two European rivers. (32/769)

The activity of 19 antibiotics and four antiseptics and/or disinfectants was studied against 138 non-redundant strains of Aeromonas spp. (104 Aeromonas caviae, 22 Aeromonas sobria and 12 Aeromonas hydrophila) isolated from two European rivers. Antibiotic resistance frequencies were: nalidixic acid, 59%; tetracycline, 14%; fosfomycin, 8%; tobramycin and cotrimoxazole, 7%; cefotaxime, 4%; chloramphenicol, 2%; gentamicin, 1%. Most of the nalidixic acid-resistant strains were susceptible to fluoroquinolones (54-98%). Antibiotic resistance rates varied according to the source of the strains. All Aeromonas spp. strains were killed by 50 ppm of chlorine, cetylpyridinium chloride and peracetic acid, and by 1600 ppm of glutaraldehyde.  (+info)