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Exoelectrogenic bacteria have potential for many different biotechnology applications due to their ability to transfer electrons outside the cell to insoluble electron acceptors, such as metal oxides or the anodes of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Very few exoelectrogens have been directly isolated from MFCs, and all of these organisms have been obtained by techniques that potentially restrict the diversity of exoelectrogenic bacteria. A special U-tube-shaped MFC was therefore developed to enrich exoelectrogenic bacteria with isolation based on dilution-to-extinction methods. Using this device, we obtained a pure culture identified as Ochrobactrum anthropi YZ-1 based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and physiological and biochemical characterization. Strain YZ-1 was unable to respire using hydrous Fe(III) oxide but produced 89 mW/m(2) using acetate as the electron donor in the U-tube MFC. Strain YZ-1 produced current using a wide range of substrates, including acetate, lactate, propionate, butyrate, glucose, sucrose, cellobiose, glycerol, and ethanol. Like another exoelectrogenic bacterium (Pseudomonas aeruginosa), O. anthropi is an opportunistic pathogen, suggesting that electrogenesis should be explored as a characteristic that confers advantages to these types of pathogenic bacteria. Further applications of this new U-tube MFC system should provide a method for obtaining additional exoelectrogenic microorganisms that do not necessarily require metal oxides for cell respiration.

Ochrobactrum anthropi, Ochrobactrum intermedium and Brucella spp. are phenotypically and genetically closely related pathogens that may cause disease with similar clinical presentation. Consequently, difficulties in their identification and differentiation have been reported. In this study, a sensitive recA gene-based multi-primer single-target PCR (MP-ST-PCR) was developed that allowed the specific detection and differentiation of these clinically relevant pathogens. The specificity of the assay was evaluated using a representative panel of 50 O. anthropi and 16 O. intermedium strains and the type strains of all Brucella spp. Detection limits for purified DNA from O. anthropi, O. intermedium and Brucella melitensis were 100, 10 and 100 fg, respectively. Brucella DNA was also successfully detected in various clinical specimens from a human patient with culture-proven brucellosis and from a Brucella-infected sheep and its aborted fetuses. The sensitivity of the MP-ST-PCR was comparable to that of an evaluated in-house Brucella real-time PCR assay. The developed assay closes a diagnostic gap and provides a simple but robust tool for the sensitive detection and correct identification of O. anthropi, O. intermedium and Brucella spp.

Inflammatory or degenerative pathology involving the vertebral bodies and/or ventral intervertebral joints has been described in numerous species, both captive and free ranging, including mammals, birds, and snakes, although never in amphibians. We described 15 cases of a newly recognized spinal arthropathy in adult cane toads (Chaunus [Bufo] marinus), an invasive species in Australia. Grossly appreciable lesions consisted primarily of ventral proliferation of bone and cartilage that resulted in ankylosis. Histologic examination of the entire vertebral columns of the 15 affected toads revealed 13 toads to have lesions at multiple intervertebral sites, totalling 41 intervertebral joints with lesions. Most lesions involved bone and cartilage proliferation that resulted in fusion of the joint, with (n = 15) or without (n = 9) associated pyogranulomatous inflammation. In the remaining 17 affected joints, histologic lesions were characterized by degeneration of articular cartilage without joint fusion. In addition, in one of these joints, there was also hemorrhage and pyogranulomatous inflammation. Bacterial culture of affected joints in 9 toads and grossly normal joints in 4 control toads resulted in isolation of Ochrobactrum anthropi in 7 affected toads but in none of the controls (P < .01). We proposed an interaction between degenerative and bacterial etiologies in the pathogenesis of this condition. Invasive toads may be predisposed to this condition because of their large size; increased rates of movement; and, possibly, immunosuppression resulting from inhabiting a novel environment.

Ochrobactrum anthropi is an emerging opportunist pathogen in immunocompromised patients. We report a case of septicaemia due to O. anthropi in an elderly male patient with coronary artery disease with severe left ventricular dysfunction admitted in the Intensive coronary care unit. Following intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) insertion, the patient developed a haematoma at the local site, which led to septicaemia. In spite of intensive treatment, the condition of the patient continued to deteriorate and he died on the seventh day. This infection with the microbiological characteristics useful for identification of the organism is described.

Purpose: To report an epidemic of O. anthropi pseudophakic endophthalmitis., Methods: The medical records of nine patients with culture-proven O. anthropi endophthalmitis were reviewed., Results: The presenting features were compatible to chronic endophthalmitis. Two patients showed coinfections with P. acnes. Antibiotics sensitivity test revealed susceptibility to quinolones. Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with partial capsulectomy (PC) cured infections in seven patients without coinfection of P. acnes. Final visual acuity was 20/40 or better in five patients., Conclusions: O. anthropi should be considered in cases with chronic pseudophakic endophthalmitis. PPV with PC should be the initial therapeutic option for O. anthropi endophthalmitis.

Ochrobactrum anthropi (formerly Achromobacter spp.) is an aerobic, motile, oxidase positive and lactose negative gram negative bacillus which is widely distributed in the environment and water sources. In recent publications, O. anthropi has an increasing importance as a nosocomial infection agent. The aim of this report was to present a case of O. anthropi bacteremia developed after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). A 89-year old female patient presented with high fever one day after ERCP performed due to klatskin tumour. O. anthropi had been grown in blood culture (BacT/ALERT 3D, bioMérieux, Durham, USA), and the isolate was identified by automatized system (VITEK, bioMerieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France). Since there was no clinical response to empirical ceftriaxone therapy, it was switched to meropenem, which was found effective by VITEK antibiotic susceptibility detection system. The patient was treated successfully with meropenem therapy (3 x 1 gr/day, 10 days). As a result, in case of suspected post-ERCP bacteremia, unconventional microorganisms such as O. anthropi should be taken into consideration.

We report a case of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis from Ochrobactrum anthropi. O. anthropi is recognized as an emerging pathogen in immunocompromised patients. In contrast to most previously described cases, the patient reported here had no indwelling catheter. To our knowledge, no case of O. anthropi spontaneous bacterial peritonitis has been reported in the medical literature until now.

Although Ochrobactrum anthropi is an opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients, it is increasingly being recognized to be a causative agent in healthy hosts. In this paper, we report a case of O. anthropi endocarditis and septic shock in a patient who had no prosthetic valve or rheumatic heart disease, in contrast to previous reports.

Ochrobactrum anthropi cleaved the delta-(D-alpha-aminoadipoyl)-side chain from delta-(D-alpha-aminoadipoyl)-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin, a beta-lactamase-resistant cephalosporin C analogue. In whole cell conversions up to 1 nkat g(-1) dry cell wt were achieved. O. anthropi possesses also gamma-D-glutamyltranspeptidase activity, 8 nkat g(-1) dry cell wt, the likely cause of delta-(D-alpha-aminoadipoyl)-cleavage.

It is generally believed that Ochrobactrum anthropi is the only pathogenic species in the genus Ochrobactrum. We report a case of presumptive Ochrobactrum intermedium bacteremia in a patient with bladder cancer. Identification of a rare species using rapid commercial panel could lead to an erroneous result as this clinical isolate was initially reported to be Shewanella putrefaciens. The patient was successfully treated with imipenem and ciprofloxacin.

We describe a case of infective endocarditis in a prosthetic mitral valve due to Ochrobactrum anthropi. Although O. anthropi is an emerging pathogen in immunocompromised patients, infections with the bacterium have very rarely been documented in healthy hosts, and endocarditis is rare. To our knowledge, only two cases of O. anthropi endocarditis have been reported in the medical literature.

Ochrobactrum anthropi is an emerging pathogen in immunocompromised patients but infections with the bacterium have very rarely been documented in normal hosts. We report the characteristics of O. anthropi bacteraemia in 11 immunocompetent children, aged 2 months to 7 y, hospitalized in a general hospital during a 5-y period. Children commonly presented with fever, non-specific respiratory or gastrointestinal manifestations, leukocytosis and neutrophilia and had a rapid recovery, even when they did not receive a specific treatment. In 10 cases positive blood cultures were obtained on admission and in all cases subsequent cultures were sterile. In conclusion, O. anthropi may cause bacteraemia in immunocompetent hosts, although further studies are required to clarify whether these isolates represent pseudobacteraemia or whether O. anthropi is a potential pathogen of low virulence.

Phytotoxicity and cytotoxicity of 2,4-diaminotoluene (2,4-D), 4,4'-methylenedianiline (4,4-D), and 1,6-hexanediamine (1,6-D) were investigated by observing the germination of young radish seeds and the viability of HeLa cells, respectively. 2,4-D showed the highest, 4,4-D intermediate, and 1,6-D lowest cytotoxicity. However, the phytotoxicity decreased in the order of 4,4-D > 2,4-D > 1,6-D. Contrary to the results previously reported, in the modified Sturm test the activated sludge degraded 2,4-D and 4,4-D as well as 1,6-D without any pre-acclimation. Ochrobacterium antropi was isolated for degradation of 2,4-D and 4,4-D and Pseudomonas citronellolis for 1,6-D degradation. Thielevia sp. was isolated as 2,4-D degrading fungus and Aspergillus sp. as 4,4-D and 1,6-D degrading fungus. The fungi degraded the diamines faster than the bacteria.

Although newer tunneled dialysis catheters offer improved capacity for blood flow and efficiency of dialysis, catheter-associated bacteremia remains an extremely important complication of this access strategy. This is a report of a case of catheter-associated bacteremia with Ochrobactrum anthropi, a water-borne gram-negative rod with an unusual pattern of antibiotic resistance. Given the organism's hydrophilic property and the frequency of catheter use in debilitated individuals with end-stage renal disease, Ochrobactrum anthropi infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a hemodialysis patient with unexplained fever.

Ochrobactrum anthropi, previously known as CDC group Vd, is an aerobic, Gram-negative bacillus of low virulence that occasionally causes human infection. We describe a case of infective endocarditis with O. anthropi complicated by septic embolization. A review of all the literature reported cases of O. anthropi infection is presented and categorized into 'Central line related', 'Transplant related' and "Other pyogenic infections". Mortality appears to be related to the underlying disease state, rather than the organism.

Bacteria naturally associated with the symbiont Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. akhurstii were isolated from the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis indica. Bacterial isolates distinct from P. luminescens subsp. akhurstii were obtained from 33% of the samples. Fourteen bacterial isolates, from nematodes collected from three different Caribbean islands, were characterized by conventional phenotypic tests, restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analyses of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes (16S rDNAs). Isolates were grouped into three genotypes, each one being associated with one Caribbean island. Phenotypic characteristics and 16S rDNA analysis showed that the Photorhabdus-associated bacteria were closely related to Ochrobactrum anthropi for the group from Guadeloupe, and to Ochrobactrum intermedium for the two groups from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. No pathogenicity of the Ochrobactrum spp. to the insects Galleria mellonella and Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera) was detected. Since Ochrobactrum spp. are considered as human opportunist pathogens, the mass production of entomopathogenic nematodes for biological control requires strict vigilance.

Gastric biopsy specimens obtained from 12 squirrel monkeys (Saimiri spp.) were investigated by culture for the presence of bacteria. The stomachs of two monkeys with gastritis were colonized with gram-negative, urease-positive bacteria, identified as Ochrobactrum anthropi by the Vitek and API NFT methods (BioMérieux). A third monkey with gastritis was positive for Aeromonas salmonicida and Pseudomonas vesicularis (both urease-negative). No Helicobacter pylori was isolated from squirrel monkeys. Light microscopic and transmission electron microscopic examination revealed that the O. anthropi isolates were covered by extracellular material, indicating a capsule. Characterization of the O. anthropi urease revealed Michaelis-Menten constants (Km values) of 6.2 and 4.0 mM urea for the ureases of O. anthropi isolates S664 and S1835, respectively, and 3.7 for type strain 49188. Western blot analysis using H. pylori- and H. felis-specific antibodies detected shared antigenic epitopes between the ureases of H. pylori, H. felis, and O. anthropi. The apparent molecular mass of the urease enzymes of the O. anthropi isolates was determined on 6% nondenaturing gels to be approximately 82 kDa. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests, using the MicroScan method (Dade International), revealed multidrug resistance for the O. anthropi isolates with susceptibilities for the antibiotics amikacin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, cefoperazone, tobramycin, imipenem, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.