1887

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relative distribution of plasmids in 87 clinical isolates of Nocardia, belonging to the five major pathogenic species. A correlation between plasmid content and the site of infection within the host, resistance to antibiotics and enzymic profiles was also investigated. The plasmid extraction procedure of Kado and Liu was used. Electrophoretic analysis revealed one-to-four plasmid bands, ranging in size from < 8 to >50 kb, in 27 strains (31%). Based on the number of isolates tested, the incidence of plasmid-bearing strains was significantly higher among than strains. Within , the incidence of plasmids was higher among strains isolated in the Paris area than in strains isolated elsewhere, such as in the French provinces or outside France. A statistically significant correlation was demonstrated between the cutaneous localisation of infections and the incidence of plasmid-bearing strains. The presence of plasmids in nocardiae could not be associated with specific phenotypic traits such as resistance to antibiotics or enzymic activity. The fact that the majority of clinical isolates (60 of 87) did not contain plasmids suggests that plasmids are not involved directly in virulence and that there is no selective pressure for plasmid acquisition.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/00222615-45-5-344
1996-11-01
2024-04-26
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/jmm/45/5/medmicro-45-5-344.html?itemId=/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/00222615-45-5-344&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Goodfellow M., Lechevalier M. P. Nocardioforms, genus Nocardia Trevisan 1889, 9AL. In Williams S. T., Sharpe M. E., Holt J. G. (eds) Bergey’s Manual of determinative bacteriology vol 4 Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins; 19892350–2361
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Beaman B. L., Beaman L. Nocardia species: host-parasite relationships. Clin Microbiol Rev 1994; 7:213–264
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Kasweck K. L., Little M. L., Bradley S. G. Characteristics of plasmids in Nocardia asteroides. Actinomycetes and Related Organisms 1981; 16:57–63
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Kasweck K. L., Little M. L., Bradley S. G. Plasmid in mating strains of Nocardia asteroides. Dev Industr Microbiol 1982; 23:279–286
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Boiron P., Provost F., Chevrier G., Dupont B. Review of nocardial infections in France 1987 to 1990. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 1992; 11:709–714
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Desmond E. P., Flores M. Mouse pathogenicity studies of Nocardia asteroides complex species and clinical correlation with human isolates. FEMS Microbiol Lett 1993; 110:281–284
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Wallace R. J., Tsukamura M., Brown B. A. Cefotaxime-resistant Nocardia asteroides strains are isolates of the controversial species Nocardia farcinica. J Clin Microbiol 1990; 28:2726–2732
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Wallace R. J., Brown B. A., Tsukamura M., Brown J. M., Onyi G. O. Clinical and laboratory features of Nocardia nova. J Clin Microbiol 1991; 29:2407–2411
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Jones K. L. Fresh isolates of actinomycetes in which the presence of sporangeous aerial mycelia is a fluctuating characteristic. J Bacteriol 1949; 57:141–145
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Staneck J. L., Roberts G. D. Simplified approach to identification of aerobic actinomycetes by thin-layer chromatography. Appl Microbiol 1974; 28:226–231
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Minnikin D. E., Alshamaony L., Goodfellow M. Differentiation of Mycobacterium, Nocardia, and related taxa by thin-layer chromatographic analysis of whole-organism methanolysates. J Gen Microbiol 1975; 88:200–204
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Kado C. I., Liu S.-T. Rapid procedure for detection and isolation of large and small plasmids. J Bacteriol 1981; 145:1365–1373
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Chabbert Y. A., Roussel A., Wichitz J. L., Sanson-Le, Pors, M-J., Courvalin P. Restriction endonuclease generated patterns of plasmids belonging to incompatibility groups, II, C, M and N; application to plasmid taxonomy and epidemiology. In Timmis K. N., Pühler A. (eds) Plasmids in medical, environmental and commercial importance Amsterdam: Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press; 1979183–192
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Sambrook J., Fritsch E. F., Maniatis T. (eds) Molecular cloning. A laboratory manual 2nd edn Cold Spring Harbor: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 1989
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Boiron P., Provost F. Characterization of Nocardia, Rhodococcus and Gordona species by in vitro susceptibility testing. Int J Med Microbiol 1990; 274:203–213
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Acar J., Bergogne-Bérézin E., Chardon H. Antibiogram Committee of the French Society for Microbiology 1994 Statement. Path Biol 1994; 42:I–VIII
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Boiron P., Provost F. Enzymatic characterization of Nocardia spp. and related bacteria by API ZYM profile. Mycopathologia 1990; 110:51–56
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Adams J. N., Brownell G. H. Genetic studies in Nocardia erythropolis. In Goodfellow M., Brownell G. H., Serrano J. A. (eds) The biology of the nocardiae London: Academic Press; 1976285–309
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Kirby R., Usdin K. The isolation and restriction mapping of a miniplasmid from the Actinomycete Nocardia corallina. FEMS Microbiol Lett 1985; 27:57–59
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Moretti P., Hintermann G., Hütter R. Isolation and characterization of an extrachromosomal element from Nocardia mediterranei. Plasmid 1985; 14:126–133
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Oh Y. K., Fare L. R., Taylor D. P., Widger J., Nisbet L. J. A cryptic plasmid from Nocardia orientalis NRRL 2452, a vancomycin producer. J Antibiot Tokyo 1986; 39:694–698
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Bertin A. Comparison of several procedures for plasmid profile determination in Escherichia coli. J Microbiol Methods 1995; 22:109–117
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Jonsson S., Wallace R. J., Hull S. I., Musher D. M. Recurrent Nocardia pneumonia in an adult with chronic granulomatous disease. Am Rev Respir Dis 1986; 133:932–934
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Stevens D. A., Peir A. C., Beaman M. L., Morozumi P. A., Lovett I. S., Houang E. T. Laboratory evaluation of an outbreak of nocardiosis in immunocompromised hosts. Am J Med 1981; 71:928–934
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Smego R. A., Gallis H. A. The clinical spectrum of Nocardia brasiliensis infection in the United States. Rev Infect Dis 1984; 6:164–180
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Clark N. M., Braun D. K., Pasternak A., Chenoweth C. E. Primary cutaneous Nocardia otitidiscaviarum infection: case report and review. Clin Infect Dis 1995; 20:1266–1270
    [Google Scholar]
  27. McNeil M. M., Brown J. M. The medically important aerobic actinomycetes: epidemiology and microbiology. Clin Microbiol Rev 1994; 7:357–117
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/00222615-45-5-344
Loading
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/00222615-45-5-344
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error