title: Isolation and characterization of two novel bacteria Afipia cberi and Mesorhizobium hominis from blood of a patient afflicted with fatal pulmonary illness.
abstract: We recently isolated and discovered new Bradyrhizobiaceae microbes from the cryopreserved culture broth of blood samples from 3 patients with poorly defined illnesses using modified SP4 media and culture conditions coupled with genomic sequencing. Using a similar protocol, we studied a previously cryopreserved culture broth of blood sample from a patient who had succumbed to an acute onset of fulminant pulmonary illness. We report that two phases of microbial growth were observed in the re-initiated culture. Biochemical and genomic characterization revealed microbes isolated from the first phase of growth were new Afipia species of Bradyrhizobiaceae, tentatively named A. cberi with a ~ 5 MB chromosome that was different from those of all previously known Afipia microbes including the newly discovered A. septicemium. The microbes isolated from the second phase of growth were prominent sugar assimilators, novel Phyllobacteriaceae, phylogenetically most closely related to Mesorhizobium and tentatively named M. hominis with a ~ 5.5 MB chromosome. All A. cberi isolates carry a circular ~ 140 KB plasmid. Some M. hominis isolates possess a circular ~ 412 KB plasmid that can be lost in prolonged culture or passage. No antibiotics resistant genes could be identified in both of the A. cberi and M. hominis plasmids. Antibiotic susceptibility studies using broth culture systems revealed isolates of A. cberi could be sensitive to some antibiotics, but all isolates of M. hominis were resistant to essentially all tested antibiotics. However, the cell-free antibiotics susceptibility test results may not be applicable to clinical treatment against the microbes that are known to be capable of intracellular growth. It remains to be determined if the 2 previously unknown Rhizobiales were indeed pathogenic and played a role in the pulmonary disease process in this patient. Specific probes and methods will be developed to re-examine the diseased lungs from patient's autopsy.
authors.affiliation: Tissue Microbiology Laboratory, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Shyh-Ching
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.affiliation: Tissue Microbiology Laboratory, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Bingjie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Tissue Microbiology Laboratory, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Guo-Chiuan
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Tissue Microbiology Laboratory, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Tissue Microbiology Laboratory, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Tianwei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Tissue Microbiology Laboratory, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Tissue Microbiology Laboratory, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kenjiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagamine
authors.affiliation: Tissue Microbiology Laboratory, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Shien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Zucker
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ludmilla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Olesnicky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020622:Afipia / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D059128:Mesorhizobium / Q000472:pathogenicity*