Mima Polymorpha Research Articles

Isolation of Microflora in Earthworms Guts from Different Substrates

The fungi and bacteria were analysed in the gut of Eudrilus eugeniae, from different feed substrates like dry leaves, plastic waste, kitchen waste and waste paper. Certain species of fungi (Saksenae vasiformis, Mucor plumbeus, Cladosporium carrionii, C. herbacium, Alternaria sp., Cunninghamella echinulata, Mycetia sterila, Syncephalostrum racemosum, Curvalaria lunata, C. geniculata and Geotrichum candidum) and bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mima polymorpha, E. cloacae, Proteus vulgaris, P. mirabilis, P. rettgeri, Escherichia coli, Staphylococus citreus, B. cereus, Enterococci and Micrococci) were completely digested. Certain other species were not digested fungi like Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, The microbial proliferation was more in the casts, due to the environment prevailing - rich in nutrient supply and large surface area available for growth and reproduction of the microbes that lead to enhanced microbial activity and humic acid contents in the casts.

Acinetobacter spp. and other non-fermentative pathogens causing nosocomial bacteremias

Members of the genus Acinetobacter were first described by Morax in France and Axenfeld in Germany in 1896, and became initially known as the Morax-Axenfeld bacillus. Over the years some 15 different generic names have been used to describe this microorganism, the most common being: Bacterium antitrutum, Herella va@nicola, Mima polymorpha, Achrornobacter, Alcaligenes, BSl/t: Moraxella lwofii, etc. Baumann, Doudoroff and Stainer in 1968 showed clearly that the oxidase-negative strains which were later given the name Acinetobacter differed from the oxidase-positive strains which were later given the name Moraxella. Today, modern niolecular taxonomic methods have resulted in a new classification comprising at least 19 DNA-DNA homology groups ofwhich, to date, seven have been given species names.

Neisseria meningitidis Urethritis

FOR years, the sine qua non of gonococcal infection in the male patient has been a thick, purulent urethral discharge and evidence of Gramnegative intracellular diplococci on smear examination. Indeed, these findings are used for presumptively diagnosing gonorrhea in males. Similarly for the female patient, an oxidase-positive colony that shows Gram-negative diplococci by microscopic examination is often accepted as a gonococcus without further investigation. As early as 1939, attention was drawn to microorganisms that could invalidate the diagnosis of gonorrhea by the smear method. DeBord 1 indicated such for Mima polymorpha (Moraxella osloensis) , and in 1942 Carpenter and Charles 2 reported the isolation of Neisseria meningitidis from gonococcal-like discharge in seven male patients. Little attention has been paid to N meningitidis until recent years. Since 1971, there have been reports of 80 patients in whom N meningitidis was isolated from the urethra, cervix, or anal canal. 3,4 This article reports

A Hand Infection from A. Calcoaceticus (M. polymorpha)

Acinetobacter calcoaceticus (Mima polymorpha) is not a well known organism, and its identification can be confusing due to its variable morphology and sensitivity pattern. In a joint infection, delay in identification or appropriate treatment can result in added morbidity. An A. calcoaceticus (Mima) infection in the hand seems not to have been previously reported. The present case involving a finger joint infection illustrates the pathogenicity of A. calcoaceticus (Mima) and problems of treatment. Minocycline is recommended as the drug of choice in subsequent A. calcoaceticus (Mima) and (Herella) infections.

Asymptomatic females: detection of antibody activity to gonococcal pili antigen by radioimmunoassay

A gonococcal pili antigen preparation was used to detect antibody activity sera obtained from 322 culture-positive asymptomatic females and 150 negative controls. Pili were obtained from a culture of type 2 Neisseria gonorrhoeae (strain 2686) and labeled with 125I for use in a double-antibody radioimmunoassay test system. Of the 322 sera obtained from culture-positive, asymptomatic females, 276 (85.7%) showed antibody activity greater than or equal to 1.8 mug/ml. Negative controls were obtained from three different groups of individuals, and 130 (86.7%) had undetectable antibody activity. Sera from asymptomatic, culture-positive females were absorbed with three different strains of N. gonorrhoeae, one of these strains being the organism used for pili antigen preparations. The absorbed sera were tested for antibody activity, and in each case the activity in the absorbed sera dropped to an undetectable level. When the same sera were absorbed with N. meningitidis, N. catarrhalis, N. perflava, Escherichia coli, Herellea vaginicola, Mima polymorpha, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans, little, if any, decline in the level of anti-pili antibody activity was observed.

Changes in the bacterial cecal flora of mice infected with Trichuris muris (Schrank, 1788).

Cecal microorganisms of mice were categorized and enumerated weekly during the developmental cycle of infection with the whipworm, Trichuris muris. The cecal bacterial population consisted of Escherichia coli, Proteus spp, Acinetobacter lwoffi (Mima polymorpha), aerobic lactobacilli, staphylococci, enterococci, and anaerobes (bacteroides, streptococci, and lactobacilli) in control and T. muris-infected mice. The aerobic lactobacilli and the anaerobes constituted the greatest number of organisms in both groups. In week three there was a decrease in the number of these organisms, and in week four fewer of these and of all other organisms in the worm-infected mice when compared to controls. The most significantly reduced bacterial counts were observed during the period of T. muris self-cure.

The fate of bacteria in frozen red cells.

Units of blood were intentionally contaiminated with suspensions of either Aerobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Sarcina lutea, Seratia marcesens, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus faecalis, Paracolabacterum aerogenoides (Enterobacter hafriae), Mima polymorpha or Acinetobacter- calcoaceticus. When inoculation was made prior to glycerolization, the subsequent glycerolization, freezing, thawing, and deglycerolization resulted in roughly a two log reduction in the number of bacteria. When inoculation was made with a final concentration of between 10(1) and 10(5) organisms per milliliter, immediately following deglycerolization or following washing without glycerolization and freezing, no increase in the number of bacteria was seen after 72 hours storage at 4 C. Three of the 12 organisms studied decreased in number during 72 hours of storage. These data suggest that the current 24-hour limit on the post-thaw storage of frozen red blood cells may be unnecessarily restrictive.

Corneal perforation and iris prolapse due to Mima polymorpha.

An 11-year-old girl had hyperacute conjunctivitis but was lost to follow-up until nine days later when she returned with a corneal perforation and iris prolapse. A smear at that time showed Gram-negative intracellular diplococci, but subsequent bacteriological study revealed the causative organism to be Mima polymorpha. This apparently is the first documented case of corneal perforation due to Mimeae, and emphasizes that Mimeae can be completely indistinguishable, clinically and on smear, from infection caused by Neisseria. Only a high index of suspicion and the proper bacterial cultures can prevent a possible tragic misdiagnosis.

Growth of various bacteria in a variety of intravenous fluids

The growth of a variety of commonly encountered bacterial pathogens in several commercially available intravenous infusion fluids was studied. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, Mima polymorpha. Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis in concentrations of 104 – 105 colony-forming units/ml were placed in commercially available solutions of 0.9% sodium chloride, Ringer’s lactate, dextrose 5% in Ringer’s lactate, and dextrose 5% in water. The number of viable microorganisms was determined at 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours and examined at both 23 C and 37 C. Populations of gram-negative bacilli generally increased by two logs in 24 to 48 hours, both at 23 and 37 C, while gram-positive cocci remained stationary or died off. Tonicity, pH and available nutrients appeared to play major roles in survival and growth, while temperature was less important. Dextrose 5% in water appeared to be the most hostile to bacterial growth, while 0.9% sodium chloride. Ringer’s lactate and dextrose 5% in Ringer’s lactate appeared to be more conducive to growth. In the event of contamination, it is concluded that physicians and pharmacists should expect to encounter primarily gram-negative bacilli; by 48 hours, considerable concentrations of contaminating bacteria can be expected; and despite bacteria concentrations of 106 colony-forming units/ml, no turbidity of fluid will be noted.

Uptake and killing of Mima polymorpha and Herellea vaginicola by the reticuloendothelial system of neonatally thymectomized nonwasted mice.

Phagocytosis and killing of Mima polymorpha and Herellea vaginicola by the liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys from neonatally thymectomized nonwasted mice and their sham-thymectomized litter mates were compared. The removal of M. polymorpha from blood by these organs, measured 2 and 4 hr after intravenous injection of bacteria, was not affected by thymectomy. Because significantly fewer viable organisms persisted in the liver, spleen, and kidneys, it is concluded that bacterial killing increased after thymectomy. Phagocytosis of M. polymorpha by peritoneal macrophages increased in thymectomized mice. Removal of H. vaginicola from the blood by the lungs was greater after thymectomy. Thymectomy did not affect the killing of H. vaginicola by the liver, spleen, lungs, or kidneys. Killing of H. vaginicola by the kidney was less than that by other organs, although this was not affected by thymectomy. Chronic reticuloendothelial stimulation associated with infection was not an adequate explanation for these findings because no wasting syndrome was encountered.

Septicemia due to Aeromonas hydrophila and Mima polymorpha in a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia.

Septicemia due to Aeromonas hydrophila and Mima polymorpha in a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia.

Mima polymorpha Bacteremia

Over a ten-month period 56 blood cultures from 27 patients grew Mima polymorpha. Only three patients in this group had clinical evidence of bacteremia. Most of the 48 positive blood cultures in the 24 patients without clinical evidence of bacteremia were caused by addition to the blood cultures of penicillinase, which was contaminated with M polymorpha. Several patients were treated because of the false-positive blood culture results.

Mima polymorpha bacteremia. False-positive cultures due to contaminated penicillinase

Over a ten-month period 56 blood cultures from 27 patients grew Mima polymorpha. Only three patients in this group had clinical evidence of bacteremia. Most of the 48 positive blood cultures in the 24 patients without clinical evidence of bacteremia were caused by addition to the blood cultures of penicillinase, which was contaminated with M polymorpha. Several patients were treated because of the false-positive blood culture results.

Characteristics of bacteria of the Mima and Herellea genera (tribe Mimeae, DeBord, 1942). I. Morphobiochemical properties and sensitivity to antibiotics

No presente trabalho, os autores estudaram as propriedades morfo-bioquímicas e a sinsibilidade aos antibióticos de 19 amostras de bactérias dos gêneros Mima e Herellea isoladas de material clínico e identificadas como Mima polymorpha variedade oxidans, Mima polymorpha e Herellea vaginicola. No estudo bioquímico observou-se que Herellea vaginicola foi oxidase negativa e em meio complexo nitrogenado, consistentemente ataca a glicose, galactose, manose, arabinose, xilose, lactose a 10% e irregularmente ataca a ramnose e a celobiose; em base sintética nitrogenada, além das atividades citadas, consistentemente produziu ácido a partir da lactose. Mima polymopha foi oxidase negativa, não apresentando atividade glicidolítica, quer em meio complexo nitrogenado, quer em base sintética nitrogenada. Mima polymorpha var. oxidans, foi oxidase positiva, não revelando nenhuma atividade glicidolítica. Herellea vaginicola e Mima polymorpha mostraram grande sensibilidade à gabromicina, knamicina, neomicina, colistin, sendo que a última também foi muito sensível ao cloranfenicol e rovamicina. Mima polymorpha var. oxidans, apresentou grande sensibilidade à knamicina, neomicina, colistin, cloranfenicol e wintomylon. A sensibilidade das amostras a 1 a 0,1 unidade de penicilina/ml, nas condições ensaiadas no presente trabalho, não foi absoluta, como a observada por Baumann, Doudoroff & Stanier (1968a) que permitisse uma separação entre amostras oxidase positiva e negativa ou uma diferenciação dentro do grupo das bactérias oxidase positiva.

Partial purification and properties of the fructose-1,6-diphosphatase from Acinetobacter lwoffi

Fructose-1,6-diphosphatase (FDPase) from Acinetobacter lwoffi ( Mima polymorpha) was partially purified and some of its properties investigated. The enzyme is constitutive for the organism and its levels are not affected by the different growth substrates used. Time study experiments showed no appreciable fluctuations during the different growth phases in any medium. Like most other FDPases studied, the enzyme in Acinetobacter requires a divalent cation like Mg 2+ or Mn 2+, has a high affinity for the substrate, is stimulated by low concentrations of EDTA, has a pH optimum in the alkaline range, and is inhibited by high substrate concentrations. The presence of EDTA in the reaction mixture causes a small shift in the pH optimum in different buffers. The enzyme is strongly inhibited by ATP, ITP, and GTP and to lesser extents by ADP, IDP, and citrate but is relatively insensitive to AMP. However, a lowering of pH results in some enhancement of AMP inhibition. Evidence is presented to show that the treatment of the enzyme with ATP and citrate results in an alteration of the protein leading to reduced affinity for the substrate and consequently reduced activity. At moderate concentrations, the inhibition caused by ATP and citrate together is additive. Three different assay procedures failed to demonstrate any phosphofructokinase activity in crude and partially purified preparations of Acinetobacter lwoffi. It is postulated that modulation of the enzyme by the substrate itself is a major regulatory mechanism in this highly oxidative organism.

Opinion 40: Rejection of the Names Mima De Bord and Herellea De Bord and of the Specific Epithets polymorpha and vaginicola in Mima polymorpha De Bord and Herellea vaginicola De Bord, Respectively

The generic names Mima De Bord 1939, 1942 and Herellea De Bord 1942 were placed on the list of rejected names. The specific epithets polymorpha and vaginicola in the names Mima polymorpha De Bord 1939, 1942 and Herellea vaginicola De Bord 1942, respectively, were placed on the list of rejected epithets. The tribal name Mimeae De Bord 1939, 1942 therefore has no standing in nomenclature because it is based on a rejected generic name.

Nonfermentative bacilli associated with man. 3. Pathogenicity and antibiotic susceptibility.

As it is now possible as well as practical to identify nearly all nonfermentative Gram-negative bacilli recovered from clinical material, 565 strains of these bacteria were studied in respect to four features: incidence, distribution, potential pathogenicity, and antibiotic susceptibility. Four species, previously known to be opportunistic pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, P. maltophilia, Acinetobacter anitratus (Herellea vaginicola) , and A. Iwoffi (Mima polymorpha) , were the most commonly encountered. P. pseudoalcaligenes and P. fluorescens were also frequently encountered. Seven species of questionable pathogenicity were less common; these were P. stutzeri, P. acidovorans, P. putida, P. alcaligenes, P. multivorans, P. diminuta , and Chromobacterium typhiflavum. Bordetella bronchiseptica and Xanthomonas species, occasionally encountered, appeared to be nonpathogenic for man. Three of the five species of Moraxella associated with man were encountered: M. nonliquefaciens, M. osloensis , and M. phenylpyrouvica . Only one strain of Alcaligenes faecalis , of doubtful pathogenicity, was found. Some strains of A. odorans were pathogenic. Most strains of flavobacteria were not clinically significant; none of these corresponded biochemically to King's Flavobacterium meningosepticum .

A serologic study of Herellea vaginicola and its identification by immunofluorescent staining.

A serologic basis for the identification of Herellea vaginicola and its differentiation from Mima polymorpha was presented. The validity of this serologic typing was confirmed on the basis of a small number of physiologic tests given in this paper. Thus, the immediate need of the clinical laboratory for simple diagnostic methods to differentiate Herellea from Mima and other related organisms is met. Fluorescent antibody (FA) serotyping, with the current number of types, provided a rapid means of identifying 79% of all Herellea examined. Serotyping may prove useful in future epidemiologic studies. Twenty-eight serotypes of Herellea were established, using FA and Quellung reagents. Both tests were based on the detection of specific capsular antigens rather than on a mixture of capsular and broadly reactive somatic antigens. Serotyping with FA reagents proved to be a specific test and a simple one to interpret. Fluorescent antibody typing indicated that Herellea capsular antigens were, with very few exceptions, unrelated to those of Mima polymorpha . Agglutination tests, upon which most previous studies were based, were totally unreliable for separating the two genera. When accompanied by more sophisticated physiologic testing, FA typing may assist materially in the classification of the bacteria which make up the species Herellea vaginicola , Mima polymorpha , and related species or genera.

Evaluation of media for differentiating nonfermenting gram-negative bacteria of medical significance.

An evaluation was made of media and tests used for differentiating nonfermenting gram-negative bacteria encountered in medical bacteriology in order to determine those diagnostic procedures most useful in identifying these bacteria. The organisms examined included Alcaligenes faecalis, A. odorans var. viridans, Moraxella duplex (Mima polymorpha var. oxidans), Acinetobacter anitratum (Herellea vaginicola), A. lwoffi (Mima polymorpha), Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. putida, P. maltophilia, P. pseudomallei, P. stutzeri, P. alcaligenes, and atypical strains of P. aeruginosa. The media and tests evaluated included Sellers' medium; Hugh and Leifson's OF medium; acid production from 10% lactose infusion agar; gluconate oxidation; starch, aesculin, and Tween 80 hydrolysis; lysine decarboxylase, arginine dihydrolase, deoxyribonuclease, and tyrosinase activity; tolerance to triphenyl tetrazolium chloride, cetrimide, cadmium sulfate, 2.5% and 6.5% sodium chloride, and pH 5.6; utilization of glucose, acetamide, and malonate.

Effect of different carbon sources on the synthesis of lactate dehydrogenase in Mima polymorpha

Effect of different carbon sources on the synthesis of lactate dehydrogenase in Mima polymorpha