
f Necessity of 16S rRNA gene sequencing for identifying Haemophilus parainfluenzae-like strains associated with opportunistic urinary tract infections
- Authors: Siu-Kei Chow1 , Jill E. Clarridge III1,2,3
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1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, NW120, Seattle, WA 98195-7110, USA 2 2Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 2002 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030, USA 3 3Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System, 1660 S. Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
- Correspondence Jill E. Clarridge, III [email protected]
- First Published Online: 01 June 2014, Journal of Medical Microbiology 63: 805-811, doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.071803-0
- Subject: Diagnostics, typing and identification
- Received:
- Accepted:
- Cover date:




Necessity of 16S rRNA gene sequencing for identifying Haemophilus parainfluenzae-like strains associated with opportunistic urinary tract infections, Page 1 of 1
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The identification of Haemophilus spp. from urogenital sites can be challenging due to the lack of appropriate media for culturing the organisms and the poor resolution of biochemical methods. By incorporating chocolate agar and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis in our protocol to identify Haemophilus spp. from urinary specimens, we isolated and characterized 30 genetically homogeneous strains of a cryptic species that is phylogenetically close to, but distinct from, Haemophilus parainfluenzae. Commercial biochemical kits and VITEK 2 could not distinguish between the two species. Over 90 % of the strains were isolated from urine and the urogenital area, made possible with the inclusion of chocolate agar in our urine culture protocol. In contrast, no Haemophilus strains isolated from respiratory specimens were identified as the cryptic genospecies. The cryptic genospecies was associated with urinary tract infections (UTIs) in certain patient populations. Distinct from Haemophilus quentinii that also causes urogenital infection, the cryptic genospecies required V factor (NAD) but not X factor (haemin) to grow. The data indicated that 16S rRNA gene sequencing may be necessary in identifying Haemophilus species and that inaccurate categorization of Haemophilus strains isolated from urogenital specimens based on phenotypic characteristics may prevent accurate diagnosis of UTIs.
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The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the ~500 bp 16S rRNA gene sequence of Haemophilus strains F1202, F3186, F4243, F4301, F5945, S2472, S4460, S5833, S6091 and S5354 are KF934192–KF934201; the accession numbers for the ~1500 bp 16S rRNA gene sequence of Haemophilus strains F1202, F7148 and F7461 are KJ395381–KJ395383.
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Abbreviations: UTI urinary tract infection
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