Microbiological and genomic investigations of invasive Salmonella enterica serovar Panama from a large outbreak in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Salmonella Panama was considered an invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) serovar. Comprehensive clinical, microbiological, and genomic studies on S. Panama are scarce. We aimed to characterize the clinical and microbiological characteristics of S. Panama infection. Virulence mechanism of S. Panama and other iNTS serovars were also examined. METHODS: Based on data from the longitudinal surveillance system for Salmonella deployed in Taiwan since 2004, a case-control study was undertaken to evaluate clinical characteristics of S. Panama infection during an outbreak in 2015-2016. Cellular experiments were conducted to compare pathogenicity of S. Panama and other iNTS with S. Typhimurium. RESULTS: Most patients (41/44, 93.2%) infected by S. Panama were <5 years old (median, 1.3 years). The case-control study showed that 28 out of the 41 (68.3%) manifested as bacteremia, compared to S. Typhimurium (11.1%). Patients infected by S. Panama had longer durations of fever (P = 0.005) and hospitalization (P < 0.001). Genomic analyses split the isolates into three clades: two clones caused the outbreak, whereas another one accounted for the sporadic infections before 2015. Cellular experiments revealed that S. Panama and other iNTS serovars showed higher monolayer penetration and intracellular survival within macrophages, compared to S. Typhimurium. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that S. Panama is a clinically invasive serovar. Different iNTS serovars express common virulence phenotypes, but they may acquire invasiveness through distinct expression or combinations of virulence genes.

A primary assessment of the endophytic bacterial community in a xerophilous moss (Grimmia montana) using molecular method and cultivated isolates.

Investigating the endophytic bacterial community in special moss species is fundamental to understanding the microbial-plant interactions and discovering the bacteria with stresses tolerance. Thus, the community structure of endophytic bacteria in the xerophilous moss Grimmia montana were estimated using a 16S rDNA library and traditional cultivation methods. In total, 212 sequences derived from the 16S rDNA library were used to assess the bacterial diversity. Sequence alignment showed that the endophytes were assigned to 54 genera in 4 phyla (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Cytophaga/Flexibacter/Bacteroids). Of them, the dominant phyla were Proteobacteria (45.9%) and Firmicutes (27.6%), the most abundant genera included Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Enterobacter, Leclercia, Microvirga, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Planococcus, Paenisporosarcina and Planomicrobium. In addition, a total of 14 species belonging to 8 genera in 3 phyla (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria) were isolated, Curtobacterium, Massilia, Pseudomonas and Sphingomonas were the dominant genera. Although some of the genera isolated were inconsistent with those detected by molecular method, both of two methods proved that many different endophytic bacteria coexist in G. montana. According to the potential functional analyses of these bacteria, some species are known to have possible beneficial effects on hosts, but whether this is the case in G. montana needs to be confirmed.

A primary assessment of the endophytic bacterial community in a xerophilous moss (Grimmia montana) using molecular method and cultivated isolates

Investigating the endophytic bacterial community in special moss species is fundamental to understanding the microbial-plant interactions and discovering the bacteria with stresses tolerance. Thus, the community structure of endophytic bacteria in the xerophilous moss Grimmia montana were estimated using a 16S rDNA library and traditional cultivation methods. In total, 212 sequences derived from the 16S rDNA library were used to assess the bacterial diversity. Sequence alignment showed that the endophytes were assigned to 54 genera in 4 phyla (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Cytophaga/Flexibacter/Bacteroids). Of them, the dominant phyla were Proteobacteria (45.9%) and Firmicutes (27.6%), the most abundant genera included Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Enterobacter, Leclercia, Microvirga, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Planococcus, Paenisporosarcina and Planomicrobium. In addition, a total of 14 species belonging to 8 genera in 3 phyla (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria) were isolated, Curtobacterium, Massilia, Pseudomonas and Sphingomonas were the dominant genera. Although some of the genera isolated were inconsistent with those detected by molecular method, both of two methods proved that many different endophytic bacteria coexist in G. montana. According to the potential functional analyses of these bacteria, some species are known to have possible beneficial effects on hosts, but whether this is the case in G. montana needs to be confirmed.(AU)

A primary assessment of the endophytic bacterial community in a xerophilous moss (Grimmia montana) using molecular method and cultivated isolates

Investigating the endophytic bacterial community in special moss species is fundamental to understanding the microbial-plant interactions and discovering the bacteria with stresses tolerance. Thus, the community structure of endophytic bacteria in the xerophilous moss Grimmia montana were estimated using a 16S rDNA library and traditional cultivation methods. In total, 212 sequences derived from the 16S rDNA library were used to assess the bacterial diversity. Sequence alignment showed that the endophytes were assigned to 54 genera in 4 phyla (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Cytophaga/Flexibacter/Bacteroids). Of them, the dominant phyla were Proteobacteria (45.9%) and Firmicutes (27.6%), the most abundant genera included Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Enterobacter, Leclercia, Microvirga, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Planococcus, Paenisporosarcina and Planomicrobium. In addition, a total of 14 species belonging to 8 genera in 3 phyla (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria) were isolated, Curtobacterium, Massilia, Pseudomonas and Sphingomonas were the dominant genera. Although some of the genera isolated were inconsistent with those detected by molecular method, both of two methods proved that many different endophytic bacteria coexist in G. montana. According to the potential functional analyses of these bacteria, some species are known to have possible beneficial effects on hosts, but whether this is the case in G. montana needs to be confirmed.

Snake venomics and antivenomics of Protobothrops mucrosquamatus and Viridovipera stejnegeri from Taiwan: keys to understand the variable immune response in horses.

The proteomes of the venoms of the snakes Viridovipera stejnegeri and Protobothrops mucrosquamatus from Taiwan were characterized by N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF mass fingerprinting, and collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry of in-gel generated tryptic peptides. Proteins belonging to the following toxin classes were identified: metalloproteinase, phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)), serine proteinase, C-type lectin-like, CRISP, l-amino acid oxidase, disintegrin, and peptides (vasoactive and inhibitors of SVMPs). Nine horses were immunized with a mixture of these venoms. All horses developed a satisfactory immune response against lethality of the venom of V. stejnegeri, whereas only three horses reached the accepted neutralizing potency against the venom of P. mucrosquamatus. Antivenoms were prepared from pools of 'good responder' (GR) and 'poor responder' (PR) horses and compared by antivenomics and neutralization tests. A similar neutralizing response was observed between the GR and PR antivenoms against the venom of V. stejnegeri, whereas antivenom from PR had a lower neutralizing activity against effects of P. mucrosquamatus venom than antivenom from GR. The low potency of the plasma of some horses against this venom is a consequence of the low immunogenicity of the neurotoxic PLA(2) trimucrotoxin. Our results provide clues for innovating the immunization scheme to generate improved antivenoms.

Genotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella enterica serotype Panama isolated in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Previous studies have indicated that Salmonella enterica serotype Panama causes systemic infections in humans. The present study was undertaken to gain more understanding of the molecular epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella Panama. METHODS: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and molecular typing were performed on 9 clinical isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The presence of resistance genes, Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1), and integrons was examined by polymerase chain reaction. Plasmid profiles of these isolates were also determined. RESULTS: Molecular typing showed 3 predominant PFGE types with 6 subtypes among these isolates. High rates of antimicrobial resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (66.7%), tetracycline (66.7%), chloramphenicol (66.7%), ampicillin (55.6%), streptomycin (55.6%), kanamycin (55.6%), and gentamicin (44.4%) were found. All 9 isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone, cefixime, imipenem, amikacin, and ciprofloxacin. Isolates with PFGE type P1 and subtype P1-1 contained a class 1 integron and resistance genes sulI and str (p=0.048). Plasmids of 3 to 20 kb were found in all isolates belonging to PFGE type P1, subtypes P1-1 and P1-2, which were associated with multidrug resistance (p=0.012) and the resistant gene bla(TEM) (p=0.048). There was no SGI1 found in these 9 isolates. CONCLUSIONS: In view of the high rates of drug resistance to the antimicrobial agents tested, extended-spectrum cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones seem to be a better choice for treatment of systemic infection caused by Salmonella Panama. There is a major clone (P1 and its subtypes) among the Salmonella Panama isolates. Multidrug resistance was conferred by integrons or plasmids, rather than SGI1.