title: Biochemical and pathogenic properties of Shewanella alga and Shewanella putrefaciens.
abstract: We characterized 49 strains of Shewanella spp. from clinical (n = 31) and nonhuman (n = 18) sources. Most Shewanella alga organisms (Gilardi biovar 2; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] biotype 2) originated from clinical material (92%), failed to produce acid from carbohydrates other than D-ribose, and were biochemically and enzymatically fairly homogeneous. In contrast, Shewanella putrefaciens organisms (Gilardi biovars 1 and 3; CDC biotype 1) were more often associated with nonhuman sources (70%), were able to utilize a number of sugars (sucrose, L-arabinose, and maltose), and were found to exhibit wider variations in biochemical characteristics; three biotypes within S. putrefaciens were detected. Notable differences between the two species in enzymatic activity, determined with the API-ZYM system (bioMérieux, Hazelwood, Mo.), and cellular fatty acid profiles, determined by the MIDI system (Microbial ID Inc., Newark, Del.), were also detected. Pathogenicity studies of mice indicate that S. alga appears to be the more virulent species, possibly due to the production of a hemolytic substance.
authors.affiliation: Division of Communicable Disease Control, California Department of Health Services, Berkeley 94704-1011, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khashe
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Janda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D006092:Gram-Negative Facultatively Anaerobic Rods / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006461:Hemolysis; D006801:Humans; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D051379:Mice; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents