Project description:Bergeyella zoohelcum is an uncommon zoonotic pathogen typically associated with cat or dog bites. Previously, only five cases of B. zoohelcum infection have been reported. We report the isolation and characterization of a fastidious Bergeyella species from acute cellulitis in the upper extremity of a 60-year-old woman. The organism was too fastidious for identification and susceptibility testing with traditional culture methods. The isolate was characterized further by PCR amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene with broad-range eubacterial primers. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S ribosomal DNA sequence indicated that this isolate was a member of the species B. zoohelcum (previously Weeksella zoohelcum), a gram-negative bacillus that is rarely associated with infections in humans. Despite sharing a close genetic relationship with other B. zoohelcum strains, this isolate was extremely fastidious in nature, raising the possibility that similar strains from cat or dog bite wound infections have been underreported.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Bergeyella cardium infection is becoming increasingly prevalent in patients with infective endocarditis, suggesting its significance in disease pathogenesis. However, few studies have fully characterized this species. RESULTS:Herein, we report the morphological and physiological characteristics, as well as whole genome sequencing of a newly identified B. cardium HPQL strain isolated from a patient with infective endocarditis. Results from the cellular morphology and biochemical analysis provide basic knowledge on the new pathogen. The whole genome sequencing of B. cardium HPQL consists of a circular chromosome with a total length of 2,036,890?bp. No plasmid was detected. Comparative genomics were carried out then. Antibiotics resistance related genes, pathogenesis related genes, predicted insertion sequences, genome islands and predicted CRISPRs sequences were demonstrated. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide a complete genome sequence for Bergeyella spp. CONCLUSIONS:This study provides fundamental phenotypic and genomic information for the newly identified fastidious infective endocarditis causative bacteria, B. cardium. Our results provide insights into effective clinical diagnosis and treatment of this pathogen.
Project description:Infectious endocarditis (IE) can be caused by various pathogens, from dominating agents such as viridans group streptococci and staphylococci to rare species that are less virulent and not typically considered to be pathogens. In this study, we have isolated a novel species from a patient with problem of IE which was genetically most closely related to 'Bergeyella cardium', a causative pathogen of IE first reported in Korea in 2015 as a new species of the genus Bergeyella, with a similarity of 98.8% in 16S rRNA sequences. Microbiological characteristics, including morphology, biochemical identification and antimicrobial susceptibility profiling, of this novel species were determined. This fastidious Gram-negative bacillus could only be identified successfully by molecular sequencing analysis at present, and it exhibited low minimum inhibitory concentrations to the antibiotics tested except for aminoglycosides. Phylogeny analysis revealed this novel species clustered well with 'B. cardium' and other close species of genus Bergeyella.
