Bilophila wadsworthia, gen. nov. and sp. nov., a Unique Gram-negative Anaerobic Rod Recovered from Appendicitis Specimens and Human Faeces

Baron, Ellen Jo; Summanen, Paula; Downes, Julia; Roberts, Marilyn C.; Wexler, Hannah M.; Finegold, Sydney M.

doi:10.1099/00221287-135-12-3405

Cited by 85 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(3 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…An example is the 92-base T-RF band, corresponding to the size predicted for Bilophila wadsworthia. This is a species associated with appendicitis, abscesses, bacteremia, and biliary tract sepsis (21) which has also been reported to be present in the gastrointestinal tract (2). It is tempting to speculate whether the presence of this species in the CF lung may be related to gastric aspiration induced by strenuous coughing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Bacterial Community Diversity in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Infections by Use of 16S Ribosomal DNA Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Profiling

et al. 2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Progressive loss of lung function resulting from the inflammatory response to bacterial colonization is the leading cause of mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. A greater understanding of these bacterial infections is needed to improve lung disease management. As culture-based diagnoses are associated with fundamental drawbacks, we used terminal restriction fragment (T-RF) length polymorphism profiling and 16S rRNA clone data to characterize, without prior cultivation, the bacterial community in 71 sputa from 34 adult CF patients. Nineteen species from 15 genera were identified in 53 16S rRNA clones from three patients. Of these, 15 species have not previously been reported in CF lung infections and many were species requiring strict anaerobic conditions for growth. The species richness and evenness were determined from the T-RF length and volume for the 71 profiles. Species richness was on average 13.3 ؎ 7.9 per sample and 13.4 ؎ 6.7 per patient. On average, the T-RF bands of the lowest and highest volumes represented 0.6 and 59.2% of the total volume in each profile, respectively. The second through fifth most dominant T-RF bands represented 15.3, 7.5, 4.7, and 2.8% of the total profile volume, respectively. On average, the remaining T-RF bands represented 10.2% of the total profile volume. The T-RF band corresponding to Pseudomonas aeruginosa had the highest volume in 61.1% of the samples. However, 18 other T-RF band lengths were dominant in at least one sample. In conclusion, this reveals the enormous complexity of bacteria within the CF lung. Although their significance is yet to be determined, these findings alter our perception of CF lung infections.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Bacterial Community Diversity in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Infections by Use of 16S Ribosomal DNA Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Profiling

et al. 2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Bilophila wadsworthia is a strictly anaerobic, gram negative rod that was first isolated in 1989 (Baron et al 1989). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Purification, properties and primary structure of alanine dehydrogenase involved in taurine metabolism in the anaerobe Bilophila wadsworthia

Laue

Cook

2000

Archives of Microbiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Alanine dehydrogenase [L-alanine:NAD + oxidoreductase (deaminating), EC 1.4.1.4.] catalyses the reversible oxidative deamination of L-alanine to pyruvate and, in the anaerobic bacterium Bilophila wadsworthia RZATAU, it is involved in the degradation of taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonate). The enzyme regenerates the amino-group acceptor pyruvate, which is consumed during the transamination of taurine and liberates ammonia, which is one of the degradation end products. Alanine dehydrogenase seems to be induced during growth with taurine. The enzyme was purified about 24-fold to apparent homogeneity in a three-step purification. SDS-PAGE revealed a single protein band with a molecular mass of 42 kDa. The apparent molecular mass of the native enzyme was 273 kDa, as determined by gel filtration chromatography, suggesting a homo-hexameric structure. The N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined. The pH optimum was pH 9.0 for reductive amination of pyruvate and pH 9.0-11.5 for oxidative deamination of alanine. The apparent K m values for alanine, NAD + , pyruvate, ammonia and NADH were 1.6, 0.15, 1.1, 31 and 0.04 mM, respectively. The alanine dehydrogenase gene was sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence corresponded to a size of 39.9 kDa and was very similar to that of the alanine dehydrogenase from Bacillus subtilis.

show abstract

“…Bilophila wadsworthia is a strictly anaerobic, gram-negative bacterium (2) which belongs to the family Desulfovibrionaceae in the delta subdivision of the Proteobacteria, but does not reduce sulfate (2,25). B. wadsworthia has been found quite frequently in patients with appendicitis and its complications and is the third most common anaerobic isolate in such infections (11), but can also be isolated from a wide variety of other infections, e.g., biliary tract infection (41), liver abscess (41), and ear infections (39).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissimilatory Sulfite Reductase (Desulfoviridin) of the Taurine-Degrading, Non-Sulfate-Reducing Bacterium Bilophila wadsworthia RZATAU Contains a Fused DsrB-DsrD Subunit

et al. 2001

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A dissimilatory sulfite reductase (DSR) was purified from the anaerobic, taurine-degrading bacterium Bilophila wadsworthia RZATAU to apparent homogeneity. The enzyme is involved in energy conservation by reducing sulfite, which is formed during the degradation of taurine as an electron acceptor, to sulfide. According to its UV-visible absorption spectrum with maxima at 392, 410, 583, and 630 nm, the enzyme belongs to the desulfoviridin type of DSRs. The sulfite reductase was isolated as an ␣ 2 ␤ 2 ␥ n (n > 2) multimer with a native size of 285 kDa as determined by gel filtration. We have sequenced the genes encoding the ␣ and ␤ subunits (dsrA and dsrB, respectively), which probably constitute one operon. dsrA and dsrB encode polypeptides of 49 (␣) and 54 kDa (␤) which show significant similarities to the homologous subunits of other DSRs. The dsrB gene product of B. wadsworthia is apparently a fusion protein of dsrB and dsrD. This indicates a possible functional role of DsrD in DSR function because of its presence as a fusion protein as an integral part of the DSR holoenzyme in B. wadsworthia. A phylogenetic analysis using the available Dsr sequences revealed that B. wadsworthia grouped with its closest 16S rDNA relative Desulfovibrio desulfuricans Essex 6.Bilophila wadsworthia is a strictly anaerobic, gram-negative bacterium (2) which belongs to the family Desulfovibrionaceae in the delta subdivision of the Proteobacteria, but does not reduce sulfate (2, 25). B. wadsworthia has been found quite frequently in patients with appendicitis and its complications and is the third most common anaerobic isolate in such infections (11), but can also be isolated from a wide variety of other infections, e.g., biliary tract infection (41), liver abscess (41), and ear infections (39). B. wadsworthia has also been found in the normal fecal flora (2). The organism lacks classical virulence factors like capsules, fimbriae, and extracellular enzymes (2). However, preliminary studies have indicated that B. wadsworthia exerts cytotoxic effects on two cell lines, and endotoxic activity of B. wadsworthia has been described (2, 34).We recently isolated from a communal sewage plant a strain of B. wadsworthia which utilizes organic sulfonates (e.g., taurine [2-aminoethanesulfonate]) as a carbon source and electron sink. B. wadsworthia respires taurine anaerobically with electrons derived mainly from formate oxidation and oxidation of the taurine carbon (25). Taurine is transaminated to sulfoacetaldehyde (22), which is cleaved to sulfite and an unidentified organic product (K. Denger and A. M. Cook, unpublished). Finally, sulfite is reduced to sulfide by a dissimilatory sulfite reductase (DSR) (6, 25). In addition, sulfite or thiosulfate serves as an electron acceptor for anaerobic respiration with formate as the electron donor in B. wadsworthia (25).DSR, a key enzyme in dissimilatory sulfate reduction, occurs in all organisms capable of reducing sulfite during anaerobic respiration investigated so far (9, 33). Otherwise, DSRs are rare....

show abstract

Bilophila wadsworthia, gen. nov. and sp. nov., a Unique Gram-negative Anaerobic Rod Recovered from Appendicitis Specimens and Human Faeces

Cited by 85 publications

References 17 publications

Characterization of Bacterial Community Diversity in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Infections by Use of 16S Ribosomal DNA Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Profiling

Characterization of Bacterial Community Diversity in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Infections by Use of 16S Ribosomal DNA Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Profiling

Purification, properties and primary structure of alanine dehydrogenase involved in taurine metabolism in the anaerobe Bilophila wadsworthia

Dissimilatory Sulfite Reductase (Desulfoviridin) of the Taurine-Degrading, Non-Sulfate-Reducing Bacterium Bilophila wadsworthia RZATAU Contains a Fused DsrB-DsrD Subunit

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About