title: Isolation of a bacterium resembling Pirellula species from primary tissue culture of the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon).
abstract: During attempts to establish tissue cultures from hepatopancreas, heart, and hemolymph of the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon), using a medium including penicillin, streptomycin, and amphotericin B, bacterial contamination in the form of a sheet of growth attached to the tissue culture vessel was a persistent problem. Contaminant bacteria were teardrop-shaped cells arranged in rosettes, and electron microscopy revealed buds, crateriform structures, and the absence of a peptidoglycan layer in the cell wall, features characteristic of bacteria in the Planctomyces-Pirellula group, a phylogenetically distinct group of eubacteria. Two strains of contaminant bacteria were isolated in pure culture. Both exhibited morphology and antibiotic resistance consistent with their membership in the Planctomyces-Pirellula group (order Planctomycetales) of eubacteria. Tissue culture media for marine invertebrates may select for such bacteria if high concentrations of cell wall synthesis-inhibiting antibiotics are included.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Fuerst
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sambhi
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Paynter
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Atherton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003470:Culture Media; D046508:Culture Techniques; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D033561:Penaeidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003470:Culture Media