Providencia
From MicrobeWiki, the student-edited microbiology resource
A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Providencia
Contents |
Classification
Providencia is a gram negative, flagellated motile bacterium. It is an aerobic micro organism that is best grown at 37˚C. The nutrient rich media it prefer, ATCC medium3, consists of 3.0g beef extract, 5.0g peptone, 15.0g agar, and 1.0L distilled water (StrainInfo.net).
Higher order taxa
Kingdom: Bacteria Phylum: Proteobacteria Class: Gamma Protobacteria Order: Enterobacteriales Family: Enterobacteriaceae Genus: Providencia
Species
Providencia: P. alcalifaciens, P. heimbachae, P. rettgeri, P. rustigianii, & P. stuartii.
Genus species
Description and significance
Describe the appearance, habitat, etc. of the organism, and why you think it is important.
Genome structure
The Providencia stuartii whole genome shotgun sequence is 4,603,561 nt in length. The GC content is 41%. The number of genes totals 4,860. The genome is made up of 84% coding regions coding for 4,737 proteins. Also, there are 123 structural RNA’s present.
The Providencia rustigianii whole genome shotgun sequence is 3,896,203 nt in length. The GC content is 41%. The number of genes totals 3943. The genome is made up of 87% coding regions coding for 3,856 proteins. Also, there are 87 structural RNA’s present.
Cell structure and metabolism
Providencia are gram negative bacteria and are rod shaped. The bacterium has flagella which enables it to move in its environment.
Ecology
Providencia flourish at 37°C. The bacterium is found in sewage and contaminated waters. It is also found in humans and animals. They are known to cause urinary tract infections, traveler’s diarrhea and have been isolated from wounds caused by third degree burns. It can also reside in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals.
Pathology
Providencia is often associated with urinary tract infections and traveler’s diarrhea. Because species of this bacteria have been found in penguins, the hosts are both human and animal. Species of Providencia have been found in urine, throat, stool, and blood specimens (Hickman-Brenner, 1983; Müller, 1986). P. stuartii has been found particularly in elder patients who have relied on the use of catheters for long periods of time. This species causes urinary tract infections. P. rettgeri has been associated with causing nosocomial infections (O’Hara, 2000).
Current Research
Research relating to isolation of multi-antibiotic resistant strains of Providencia is currently underway. Providencia strains resistant to the Clindamycin, Tetracyclin, Macrolide, and Sulphonamide classes of antibiotics have been isolated from samples of animal stool. Further research as to the origin and abundance of these strains of multi-resistant Providencia organisms will be required as it is important to both human and animal health. Providencia species have been known to cause gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections/disorders in both human and animal species. The prevalence of Providencia infection in hospital settings is of particular interest to medical research.
Research has been done to determine if the species heimbachae of the Providencia genus has made the jump to humans after previously only being isolated in penguin feces and an aborted bovine fetus. A case was discovered where Providencia heimbachae was isolated in a stool sample of a 23 year old female in Washington. This is the first documented case of infection by this species in humans. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was completed to see if this type of infection could be treated if it had indeed found a way to thrive in humans. Additional research will need to be done to identify additional cases, if any and what changes allowed Providencia heimbachae to evolve the ability to survive in the human gastrointestinal system. Mohr O’Hara, Caroline, et. al. “Isolation of Providencia heimbachae from Human Feces”. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Vol. 37. No. 9. p. 3048-3050. September 1999.
Research has been done to determine the effects of Providencia stuartii infection prevalence in patients in hospital and clinical settings with urinary devices. There is a current trend of stuartii infection in patients with persistent in-dwelling urinary implements such as catheters. This study was performed to assess the possibility of outbreaks among patients and modes of infection in relation to in-dwelling urinary devices.
References
-Chander, Yogesh, Goyal, Sagar M. Grupta. Satish, C. “Antimicrobial Resistance of Providencia spp. Isolated from Animal Manure.” Veterinary Journal. Vol. 171. Issue 1. p188-191, 4p, 1 chart. July 2006. -G. E. Hollick, F. S. Nolte, B. J. Calnan, J. L. Penner, L. J. Barton, and A. Spellacy. “Characterization of endemicProvidencia stuartii isolates from patients with urinary devices.” European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. Vol. 3. Number 6. December 1984. -Hickman-Brenner, F W; Farmer III, J J; Steigerwalt, A G; Brenner, D J. Providencia rustigianii: a new species in the family Enterobacteriaceae formerly known as Providencia alcalifaciens biogroup 3. J Clin Microbiol. 1983;17:1057–1060. -Mohr O’Hara, Caroline, et. al. “Isolation of Providencia heimbachae from Human Feces”. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Vol. 37. No. 9. p. 3048-3050. September 1999. -Müller, H E; O'Hara, C M; Fanning, G R; Hickman-Brenner, F W; Swenson, J M; Brenner, D J. Providencia heimbachae, a new species of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from animals. Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1986;36:252–256. -Providencia rustigianii DSM 4541,Uunfinished Sequence, Whole Genome Shotgun Sequencing Project. Washington University Genome Sequencing Center. NCBI Genome Database. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=genome&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Overview&list_uids=6074 -Providencia stuartii ATCC 25827, Unfinished Sequence, Whole Genome Shotgun Sequencing Project. Washington University Genome Sequencing Center. NCBI Genome Database. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=genome&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Overview&list_uids=5891 -StrainInfo.net. http://www.straininfo.ugent.be/index.php [Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500. -Dworkin, M; Falkow,S; Rosenberg, E; Schleifer, E; Stackebrandt, E; The Prokaryotes, 3rd Edition. Vol. 6. P245-270. 1992.
Edited by student of Dr. Kirk Bartholomew
