Am J Med Sci, 2000 Mar, 319(3), 189 - 90 Anaerobic bacteremia in a neutropenic patient with oral mucositis; Vidal AM et al.; An increasing number of anaerobic bloodstream infections in neutropenic cancer patients have been reported in the last decade . The type of anaerobes isolated from most of these patients suggests an oral source of infection . We describe a case of anaerobic bacteremia in a neutropenic patient with oral mucositis that highlights the importance of considering these organisms when selecting empiric prophylactic or therapeutic antimicrobial regimens, especially in the setting of periodontal disease or oral mucositis. Appl Environ Microbiol, 2000 Apr, 66(4), 1292 - 7 Electricity generation in microbial fuel cells using neutral red as an electronophore; Park DH et al.; Neutral red (NR) was utilized as an electron mediator in microbial fuel cells consuming glucose to study both its efficiency during electricity generation and its role in altering anaerobic growth and metabolism of Escherichia coli and Actinobacillus succinogenes . A study of chemical fuel cells in which NADH, NR, and ferricyanide were the electron donor, the electronophore, and the electron acceptor, respectively, showed that electrical current produced from NADH was proportional to the concentration of NADH . Fourfold more current was produced from NADH in chemical fuel cells when NR was the electron mediator than when thionin was the electron mediator . In microbial fuel cells in which E . coli resting cells were used the amount of current produced from glucose when NR was the electron mediator (3.5 mA) was 10-fold more than the amount produced when thionin was the electron mediator (0.4 mA) . The amount of electrical energy generated (expressed in joules per mole of substrate) and the amount of current produced from glucose (expressed in milliamperes) in NR-mediated microbial fuel cells containing either E . coli or A . succinogenes were about 10- and 2-fold greater, respectively, when resting cells were used than when growing cells were used . Cell growth was inhibited substantially when these microbial fuel cells were making current, and more oxidized end products were formed under these conditions . When sewage sludge (i.e., a mixed culture of anaerobic bacteria) was used in the fuel cell, stable (for 120 h) and equivalent levels of current were obtained with glucose, as observed in the pure-culture experiments . These results suggest that NR is better than other electron mediators used in microbial fuel cells and that sludge production can be decreased while electricity is produced in fuel cells . Our results are discussed in relation to factors that may improve the relatively low electrical efficiencies (1.2 kJ/mol) obtained with microbial fuel cells. Adv Exp Med Biol, 1999, 472, 149 - 58 Short-chain fatty acid in the human colon . Relation to inflammatory bowel diseases and colon cancer; D'Argenio G et al.; Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are the end products of anaerobic bacteria break down of carbohydrates in the large bowel . This process, namely fermentation, is an important function of the large bowel; SCFAs, mainly acetate, propionate and butyrate account for approximately 80% of the colonic anion concentration and are produced in nearly constant molar ratio 60:25:15 . Among their various properties, SCFAs are readily absorbed by intestinal mucosa, are relatively high in caloric content, are metabolized by colonocytes and epatocytes, stimulate sodium and water absorption in the colon and are trophic to the intestinal mucosa . While the fermentative production of SCFAs has been acknowledged as a principal mechanism of intestinal digestion in ruminants, the interest in the effects of SCFAs production on the human organism has been raising in the last ten years . SCFAs are of major importance in understanding the physiological function of dietary fibers and their possible role in intestinal neoplasia . SCFAs production and absorption are closely related to the nourishment of colonic mucosa, its production from dietary carbohydrates is a mechanism whereby considerable amounts of calories can be produced in short-bowel patients with remaining colonic function and kept on an appropriate dietary regimen . SCFAs enemas or oral probiotics are a new and promising treatment for ulcerative colitis . The effects have been attributed to the oxidation of SCFAs in the colonocytes and to the ability of butyrate to induce enzymes (i.e . transglutaminase) promoting mucosal restitution . Evidence is mounting regarding the effects of butyrate on various cell functions the significance of which needs further considerations . Up until now, attention has been related especially to cancer prophylaxis and treatment . This article briefly reviews the role of SCFAs, particularly butyrate, in intestinal mucosal growth and potential clinical applications in inflammatory and neoplastic processes of the large bowel. J Bacteriol, 2000 Apr, 182(8), 2200 - 6 Evidence for the presence of an F-type ATP synthase involved in sulfate respiration in Desulfovibrio vulgaris; Ozawa K et al.; Using a library of genomic DNA from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F, a strict anaerobe, and two synthetic deoxyoligonucleotide probes designed for F-type ATPases, the genes for open reading frames (ORFs) 1 to 5 were cloned and sequenced . The predicted protein sequences of the gene products indicate that they are composed of 172, 488, 294, 471, and 134 amino acids, respectively, and that they share considerable identity at the amino acid level with delta, alpha, gamma, beta, and epsilon subunits found in other F-type ATPases, respectively . Furthermore, a component carrying ATPase activity was partially purified from the cytoplasmic membrane fraction of the D . vulgaris Miyazaki F cells . The N-terminal amino acid sequences of three major polypeptides separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-12% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were identical to those of the products predicted by the sequences of ORF-2, ORF-3, and ORF-4, suggesting that an F-type ATPase is functioning in the D . vulgaris Miyazaki F cytoplasmic membrane . The amount of the F-type ATPase produced in the D . vulgaris Miyazaki F cells is similar to that in the Escherichia coli cells cultured aerobically . It indicates that the enzyme works as an ATP synthase in the D . vulgaris Miyazaki F cells in connection with sulfate respiration. Can J Microbiol, 2000 Feb, 46(2), 95 - 100 Serogroups of the beer spoilage bacterium Megasphaera cerevisiae correlate with the molecular weight of the major EDTA-extractable surface protein; Ziola B et al.; Megasphaera cerevisiae is a Gram-negative obligate anaerobe that causes turbidity and off-flavour and aroma in beer . Seven isolates of M . cerevisiae were obtained worldwide, and their extractable surface antigens were focused upon to determine if there is more than one serogroup of this bacterium . Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) bacterial extracts revealed a predominant protein with apparent molecular weights of 46,000, 45,000, and 43,000 for three, two, and two isolates, respectively . When mouse anti-serum generated against any of the EDTA extracts was reacted with denatured bacterial proteins in immunoblots, all bacterial isolates exhibited extensive cross-reactivity involving three antigens, one being the major EDTA-extractable protein . In contrast, when the sera were tested for surface reactivity with intact bacteria, three cross-reactivity groups were observed, with the groups individually comprised of bacteria having the same size major EDTA-extractable surface protein . When BALB/c mice immunized with a bacterium from each of the three serogroups were used for monoclonal antibody (Mab) hybridoma production, bacterial surface-reactive Mabs were obtained whose reactivities parallel the three polyclonal antibody-defined serogroups . Through combining these surface-reactive Mabs, it will be possible to rapidly detect and identify beer contamination by M . cerevisiae belonging to any serogroup. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab, 1999 Sep-Oct, 12(5), 603 - 10 Oral health in children and adolescents with IDDM--a review; Iughetti L et al.; Children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus have a lower salivary flow rate, pH and buffer capacity, but a higher glucose content and peroxidase, IgA, magnesium and calcium concentration, in comparison with healthy children . Nevertheless the incidence of caries is lower than normal in diabetic children with good metabolic control . Periodontal disease usually starts at puberty as mild gingivitis with bleeding and gingival recession, and it may develop into severe periodontitis, especially in children with poor control of diabetes . Microangiopathy, impaired immune response, different bacterial microflora and collagen metabolism are involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic periodontal disease . The gingival flora is mostly composed of Gram-negative, anaerobic bacteria, while collagen has a lower solubility and is atrophic and inadequate to support the occlusion forces . For these reasons, prevention of periodontitis is important in diabetic children; they should receive oral hygiene instruction and visit a dentist at least twice a year. J Oral Sci, 1999 Dec, 41(4), 187 - 90 Beta-lactamases producing anaerobic bacteria in dentoalveolar abscesses; Kolokotronis A; Pus samples of 30 patients with closed dentoalveolar abscesses who had not received antimicrobial therapy for at last two months were screened for the presence of beta-lactamase-producing anaerobic bacteria . From these 30 pus samples, a total of 112 bacterial strains were isolated; 83 of them were strict anaerobes and 29 were aerobes . beta-lactamases activity of the selected anaerobic bacteria was tested after identification of the isolates and was detected in 5 of the total 83 (6%) strict anaerobic isolates, whereas these 5 strains were isolated in 4 of the 30 (13.3%) pus samples . The species with beta-lactamase activity were in the Prevotella intermedia (4 from 14 isolates) and the Fusobacterium nucleatum (1 from 9 isolates) groups . None of the gram-positive and the other gram-negative anaerobic strains were beta-lactamase positive. Infect Immun, 2000 Mar, 68(3), 1176 - 82 Emerging family of proline-specific peptidases of Porphyromonas gingivalis: purification and characterization of serine dipeptidyl peptidase, a structural and functional homologue of mammalian prolyl dipeptidyl peptidase IV; Banbula A et al.; Porphyromonas gingivalis is an asaccharolytic and anaerobic bacterium that possesses a complex proteolytic system which is essential for its growth and evasion of host defense mechanisms . In this report, we show the purification and characterization of prolyl dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) produced by this organism . The enzyme was purified to homogeneity, and its enzymatic activity and biochemical properties were investigated . P . gingivalis DPPIV, like its human counterpart, is able to cleave the N terminus of synthetic oligopeptides with sequences analogous to those of interleukins 1beta and 2 . Additionally, this protease hydrolyzes biologically active peptides including substance P, fibrin inhibitory peptide, and beta-casomorphin . Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA isolated from several P . gingivalis strains reveal that a single copy of the DPPIV gene was present in all strains tested. Zhonghua Fu Chan Ke Za Zhi, 1998 Mar, 33(3), 168 - 9 {Investigation of intrauterine microbes after intrauterine operation}; Lu R et al.; OBJECTIVE: To explore the postoperative changes in the cultures of ureaplasma urealyticum (UU), mycoplasma hominis (Mh), L-form bacteria (L-form), anaerobic bacteria (Ana) and chlamydia trochomatis (CT) after intrauterine operation . METHODS: Four groups of patients were set up: group 1, induced abortion; group 2, intrauterine device (IUD) insertion; group 3, penicillin i.m . after IUD insertion; group 4, oral lincomycin after IUD insertion . Intrauterine secretion were aspirated to identify the above microbes before operation and within 1 week of ending of menstrual bleeding for 4 consecutive postoperative cycles . Bacteria-carrier was defined as at least one of the 5 microbes detected . RESULTS: No difference was shown in the incidence of bacteria-carrier (IBC) among the 4 groups preoperation . The IBC tended to be the highest in the first menstrual cycle postsurgery in all the 4 groups, then decreased . Compared with preoperation, there were significantly higher IBC in the 3 IUD groups (P < 0.05) except group 1 . CONCLUSION: IUD is a major factor for intrauterine microbes existing after operation, and the natural body defense system can help to get rid of the organism by time . Small doses and short period of penicillin or lincomycin administration proved not effective in clearing the intrauterine microbes after IUD insertion. Scand J Gastroenterol, 2000 Jan, 35(1), 108 - 9 Actinomycosis of the colon: a rare form of presentation; Ferrari TC et al.; Actinomycosis is an uncommon entity, caused by an anaerobic bacterium, Actinomyces israelii, which is a component of the human oral and gastrointestinal flora . The cervicofacial region is the commonest site of disease, and the abdomen is the second commonest . In this situation the disease is almost always unifocal and restricted to the right colon, especially to the cecum . We report here the case of a patient with a very rare form of this entity, characterized by multiple foci of abdominal involvement with the most severe lesions localized in the transverse and sigmoid colon . The clinical presentation resembled a picture of colon perforation by cancer or diverticulitis, and the diagnosis was made by histopathologic examination of the lesions removed at surgery . No predisposing factor was found . The infection was successfully treated with a prolonged course of penicillin, after the surgical removal of the lesions. Biochim Biophys Acta, 2000 Feb 9, 1476(2), 368 - 71 Characterization of the gene encoding the {Fe}-hydrogenase from Megasphaera elsdenii; Atta M et al.; The gene encoding the {Fe}-hydrogenase from the anaerobic bacterium Megasphaera elsdenii has been cloned and sequenced . The gene is monocistronic, in keeping with the protein being a monomer . The translated protein sequence (484 residues, M(r)=53 kDa) comprises a small 2{4Fe-4S} ferredoxin-like domain and a large domain containing the catalytic site . Comparisons with other {Fe}-hydrogenase sequences, including two of which the crystal structures are known, show that the M . elsdenii protein is among the smallest of these enzymes and provide useful indications regarding the basic structural core common to all {Fe}-hydrogenases . It is, nevertheless, to be noted that the genome of Thermotoga maritima encodes a putative {Fe}-hydrogenase that would consist of only 301 residues. Folia Microbiol (Praha), 1999, 44(3), 247 - 62 Tetrachloroethene-dehalogenating bacteria; Damborsky J; Tetrachloroethene is a frequent groundwater contaminant often persisting in the subsurface environments . It is recalcitrant under aerobic conditions because it is in a highly oxidized state and is not readily susceptible to oxidation . Nevertheless, at least 15 organisms from different metabolic groups, viz . halorespirators (9), acetogens (2), methanogens (3) and facultative anaerobes (2), that are able to metabolize tetrachloroethene have been isolated as axenic cultures to-date . Some of these organisms couple dehalo-genation to energy conservation and utilize tetrachloroethene as the only source of energy while others dehalogenate tetrachloroethene fortuitously . Halorespiring organisms (halorespirators) utilize halogenated organic compounds as electron acceptors in an anaerobic respiratory process . Different organisms exhibit differences in the final products of tetrachloroethene dehalogenation, some strains convert tetrachloroethene to trichloroethene only, while others also carry out consecutive dehalogenation to dichloroethenes and vinyl chloride . Thus far, only a single organism, 'Dehalococcoides ethenogenes' strain 195, has been isolated which dechlorinates tetrachloroethene all the way down to ethylene . The majority of tetrachloroethene-dehalogenating organisms have been isolated only in the past few years and several of them, i.e., Dehalobacter restrictus, Desulfitobacterium dehalogenans, 'Dehalococcoides ethenogenes', 'Dehalospirillum multivorans', Desulfuromonas chloroethenica, and Desulfomonile tiedjei, are representatives of new taxonomic groups . This contribution summarizes the available information regarding the axenic cultures of the tetrachloroethene-dehalogenating bacteria . The present knowledge about the isolation of these organisms, their physiological characteristics, morphology, taxonomy and their ability to dechlorinate tetrachloroethene is presented to facilitate a comprehensive comparison. Surg Today, 2000, 30(2), 112 - 6 A brief course of colon preparation with oral antibiotics; Takesue Y et al.; We carried out a prospective clinical trial of colon preparation with a regimen of oral antibiotics starting on the day before surgery . The patients were assigned to one of two groups consisting of either a mechanical preparation alone group (group 1, 45 cases) or a mechanical bowel preparation with oral antibiotics group (group 2, 38 cases) . Group 2 received kanamycin and metronidazole three times on the day before surgery . Cefmetazole was administered for 3 consecutive days as prophylaxis in both groups . In a study using intraoperative mucosal swabs, the rates of group 2 patients with cultures yielding anaerobes or Gram-negative bacteria were significantly lower than those of group 1 . There were no significant differences in the rates of patients with cultures yielding fungi or Gram-positive organisms . The positive culture rate in the peritoneal fluid of group 1 was also higher than that of group 2 (40%, 16%, P < 0.05) . The surgical site infection rate was 18% in group 1 and 13% in group 2 . Organisms isolated from the sites of postoperative infections were not identical with those from the peritoneal fluid . This relatively brief course preparation minimized the emergence of resistant strains . However, in spite of the colonic bacterial burden and the intraoperative inoculation in the patients with mechanical cleansing alone, their incidence of subsequent infections was comparable to that of patients who were administered oral antibiotics provided that the prophylactic antibiotic was administered for 3 days after surgery. Pediatr Surg Int, 2000, 16(1-2), 149 - 50 Deep cervical fasciitis in a child; Holthouse DJ et al.; Deep cervical infections in children are relatively uncommon and often require prolonged antibiotic therapy . The organism may not be isolated, in which case it is necessary to cover Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms as well as anaerobes . During treatment continued vigilance is required to detect abscess formation, with ultrasound providing a useful tool for this purpose. Ophthalmologe, 2000 Jan, 97(1), 33 - 7 {Endophthalmitis: improvement of culture results}; Ness T et al.; BACKGROUND: Infectious endophthalmitis is a rare, but serious complication . Identification of the responsible microorganism is important for prognosis and therapy . In the literature positive cultures have been reported in 35-85% of cases . The purpose of our work was to improve the proportion of positive culture results . METHODS AND PATIENTS: All necessary materials (culture media: Columbia, Hamatin, ENDO and yeast-cystein-blood agar, fungus media) and instructions were always available in the operation theater . Thus, intraocularly derived samples could be cultured by less experienced residents right in the operation theater, especially off duty . At night the culture plates were incubated in the Department of Ophthalmology under optimal conditions and passed on to an experienced microbiologist later . Culture results of the first 21 patients suffering from endophthalmitis (acute or chronic postoperative, endogen) after introduction of this "endophthalmitis set" were compared to the results of the 21 patients before . RESULTS: As a result of the introduction of the "endophthalmitis set", the proportion of positive culture results improved from 11/21 to 18/21 . The detected microorganisms were all representative of the pathogens commonly causing endophthalmitis (gram-positive bacteria, anaerobic bacteria) . CONCLUSION: An appropriate culture set that is always available in the operation theater may increase the number of positive cultures dramatically and hence help to find the adequate antibiotic treatment in endophthalmitis cases. J Clin Microbiol, 2000 Feb, 38(2), 892 - 4 Survival of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in purulent clinical specimens maintained in the Copan Venturi Transystem and Becton Dickinson Port-a-Cul transport systems; Citron DM et al.; Recovery of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria from clinical specimens maintained in the Copan Venturi Transystem and the Becton Dickinson Port-a-Cul transport was assessed . Of 54 anaerobes, 53 were recovered after 4 h, and 52 were recovered after 24 h, from both systems . After 48 h, 45 and 50 were recovered from the two systems, respectively. Biotechnol Bioeng, 2000 Mar 5, 67(5), 529 - 43 Kinetics of syntrophic cultures: a theoretical treatise on butyrate fermentation; Kleerebezem R et al.; Numerous microbial conversions in methanogenic environments proceed at (Gibbs) free energy changes close to thermodynamic equilibrium . In this paper we attempt to describe the consequences of this thermodynamic boundary condition on the kinetics of anaerobic conversions in methanogenic environments . The anaerobic fermentation of butyrate is used as an example . Based on a simple metabolic network stoichiometry, the free energy change based balances in the cell, and the flux of substrates and products in the catabolic and anabolic reactions are coupled . In butyrate oxidation, a mechanism of ATP-dependent reversed electron transfer has been proposed to drive the unfavorable oxidation of butyryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA . A major assumption in our model is that ATP-consumption and electron translocation across the cytoplasmic membrane do not proceed according to a fixed stoichiometry, but depend on the cellular concentration ratio of ATP and ADP . The energetic and kinetic impact of product inhibition by acetate and hydrogen are described . A major consequence of the derived model is that Monod-based kinetic description of this type of conversions is not feasible, because substrate conversion and biomass growth are proposed to be uncoupled . It furthermore suggests that the specific substrate conversion rate cannot be described as a single function of the driving force of the catabolic reaction but depends on the actual substrate and product concentrations . By using nonfixed stoichiometries for the membrane associated processes, the required flexibility of anaerobic bacteria to adapt to varying environmental conditions can be described . J Bacteriol, 2000 Feb, 182(4), 1154 - 7 Covalent linkage of polyamines to peptidoglycan in Anaerovibrio lipolytica; Hirao T et al.; Spermidine and cadaverine were found to be constituents of the cell wall peptidoglycan of Anaerovibrio lipolytica, a strictly anaerobic bacterium . The peptidoglycan was degraded with the N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase and endopeptidase into two peptide fragments, peptide I and peptide II, at a molar ratio of 4:1 . Peptides I and II were identified as L-alanine-D-glutamic acid(alphacadaverine)gammameso-diaminopimelic acid (DAP)-D-alanine and L-alanine-D-glutamic acid(alphaspermidine)gammameso-DAP-D-alanine, respectively . The N(1)-amino group of spermidine was linked to the alpha-carboxyl group of the D-glutamic acid residue of peptide II. Med Klin (Munich), 1999 Dec 15, 94(12), 695 - 8 {Bilateral emphysematous pyelonephritis, a rare cause of acute renal failure}; Ahlert K et al.; BACKGROUND: The emphysematous pyelonephritis is a life-threatening complication of a bacterial interstitial nephritis, and it occurs mainly in diabetics . The infection with optional anaerobic microorganisms, which are able to produce gas, is supported by a reduced state of resistance, a high glucose level in the tissue in diabetic derailment and ischemia in the infected organ, for example by a kidney infarction or by an obstructive uropathy . Mostly the inflammation occurs unilateral, only in 10% of all cases both kidneys are affected . Computer tomography allows a fast diagnosis by demonstrating gas accumulation in the kidney . Surgical measures and antibiotic therapy are the principal therapeutic methods . CASE REPORT: The example of a 55-year-old diabetic man with bilateral emphysematous pyelonephritis demonstrates the diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities . After a fast diagnostic procedure, immediate hemodialysis in uremia and bilateral nephrectomy let the patient survive in a stable clinical condition dependent on regular dialysis treatment. FEMS Microbiol Ecol, 2000 Feb 1, 31(2), 163 - 172 Microbial production and consumption of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) in a sea grass (Zostera noltii)-dominated marine intertidal sediment ecosystem (Bassin d'Arcachon, France); Jonkers HM et al.; The relation between net dimethyl sulfide (DMS) production and changes in near surface (0-5 mm) oxygen concentrations in a sea grass (Zostera noltii Hornem)-covered intertidal sediment ecosystem was examined during a diel cycle . Sediment covered with Zostera was found to be more oxygenated than uncovered sediment during the period of photosynthesis . This phenomenon was probably caused by radial oxygen loss of the Zostera root-rhizome system . The population sizes of the three functional groups of microbes mainly responsible for the concentration of DMS, the dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP)-demethylating, DMSP-cleaving and DMS-oxidizing bacteria, were quantified by most probable number (MPN) methodologies . Sediments with Zostera supported substantially higher populations of both aerobic (149x10(6) cm(-3) DMSP-utilizing and 0.4x10(6) cm(-3) DMS-oxidizing) and anaerobic (43x10(6) cm(-3) DMSP-utilizing and 0.4x10(6) cm(-3) DMS-oxidizing) microorganisms than sediments without Zostera (DMSP-utilizing aerobes and anaerobes both 2x10(6) cm(-3) and DMS-oxidizing aerobes and anaerobes both 0.2x10(6) cm(-3)) . Experiments conducted with sediment cores and sediment slurries suggested that the net production of DMS in these sediments was significantly lower during oxic periods than during anoxic periods . Intact sediment cores with and without Zostera produced DMS when incubated under anoxic/dark conditions (97.0 and 53.6 nmol DMS m(-2) h(-1), respectively), while oxic/light-incubated cores did not produce detectable amounts of DMS . In addition, kinetic parameter values (V(max) and K(m)) for DMSP degradation in cell suspensions of isolated DMSP-demethylating and DMSP-cleaving bacteria were measured and compared to documented values for other strains . Both V(max) and K(m) values for DMSP-demethylating organisms were found to be relatively low (14.4-20.1 nmol DMSP mg protein(-1) min(-1) and 4.1-15.5 microM, respectively) while these parameter values varied widely in the group of the DMSP-cleaving organisms (6.7-1000 nmol DMSP mg protein(-1) min(-1) and 2-2000 microM, respectively) . It was hypothesized that a diel rhythm in DMS emission occurred, with a relatively low net production during the day and a high net production during the night . Environmental changes which result in increased anoxic conditions in coastal sediments, such as an increase in eutrophication, may therefore result in increased atmospheric DMS emission rates. Quintessence Int, 1999 May, 30(5), 311 - 8 The effects of antimicrobial mouthrinses on oral malodor and their status relative to US Food and Drug Administration regulations; Loesche WJ; This study was undertaken to review the rationale behind the usage of antibacterial mouthrinses to control oral malodor and to evaluate the claims made for antibacterial mouthrinses against the statements of US Food and Drug Administration regulations . The literature from 1960 to August 1997, found in a MEDLINE search on oral malodor, halitosis, and tongue microbiology, was examined . Clinical trials that were double blind and had selected subjects who exhibited a detectable level of oral malodor were evaluated . Individuals who experience oral malodor resulting from the overgrowth of proteolytic, anaerobic bacteria on their tongue surfaces can be successfully treated by a regimen that includes tongue brushing and toothbrushing, often in combination with use of a mouthrinse containing an antibacterial agent . Several candidate mouthrinses containing essential oils, zinc chloride, or an oil-water-cetylpyridinium chloride mouthrinse have reduced the organoleptic scores of individuals with moderate levels of oral malodor in the absence of tongue brushing . Very little long-term data beyond 6 weeks of usage are available . These mouthrinses should be marketed as oral deodorants that are analogous in purpose to the usage of deodorant soaps to control and/or eliminate body malodors. J Bacteriol, 2000 Feb, 182(3), 796 - 804 Purification and characterization of an iron superoxide dismutase and a catalase from the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio gigas; Dos Santos WG et al.; The iron-containing superoxide dismutase (FeSOD; EC 1.15.1.1) and catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) enzymes constitutively expressed by the strictly anaerobic bacterium Desulfovibrio gigas were purified and characterized . The FeSOD, isolated as a homodimer of 22-kDa subunits, has a specific activity of 1,900 U/mg and exhibits an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum characteristic of high-spin ferric iron in a rhombically distorted ligand field . Like other FeSODs from different organisms, D . gigas FeSOD is sensitive to H(2)O(2) and azide but not to cyanide . The N-terminal amino acid sequence shows a high degree of homology with other SODs from different sources . On the other hand, D . gigas catalase has an estimated molecular mass of 186 +/- 8 kDa, consisting of three subunits of 61 kDa, and shows no peroxidase activity . This enzyme is very sensitive to H(2)O(2) and cyanide and only slightly sensitive to sulfide . The native enzyme contains one heme per molecule and exhibits a characteristic high-spin ferric-heme EPR spectrum (g(y,x) = 6.4, 5.4); it has a specific activity of 4,200 U/mg, which is unusually low for this class of enzyme . The importance of these two enzymes in the context of oxygen utilization by this anaerobic organism is discussed. Eur J Oral Sci, 1999 Dec, 107(6), 429 - 36 Identifying clinically important gram-negative anaerobes from the oral cavity; Haraldsson G et al.; Gram-negative oral anaerobes have frequently been associated with periodontal disease, some species more frequently than others . The confusing classification of these organisms has often obscured the association with disease of particular species within this group of organisms . This investigation aimed to compare different identification methods that could be applied in clinical research . Clinical isolates were collected and identified by three different methods: screening with phenotypic tests, commercial identification kits, and a 16S rRNA-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method . Forty-three reference strains of 19 Prevotella and Porphyromonas species were also included in the investigation . The phenotypic screen easily differentiated Porph . gingivalis from the other pigmented species . The screen also gave a good indication of separation of the lactose-fermenting species from the lactose non-fermenting species, although diversity can be seen in beta-galactosidase activity . Commercial identification kits did not add much to identification achieved with the phenotypic screen, only 20% of Porph . gingivalis isolates could be identified to species level with the kits . Neither the kits nor the phenotypic screen could differentiate Pr . intermedia and Pr . nigrescens . With the PCR method, Pr . intermedia and Pr . nigrescens were easily separated, and Porph . gingivalis was readily identified . Because of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, Pr . melaninogenica and Pr . veroralis could not be separated by the PCR method. Zentralbl Veterinarmed A, 1999 Nov, 46(9), 517 - 22 Pharmaco-toxicological mode of action of antimicrobial 5-nitroimidazole derivatives; Schmid A et al.; 5-Nitroimidazole derivatives are used as therapeutic agents against anaerobic microorganisms which are pathogenic to man and animals . The antimicrobial mode of action of these compounds is due to the metabolic reduction of the nitro group by microbial metabolism . By analogy, a reduction of the 5-nitro group in the aerobic animal metabolism is commonly assumed . This assumption is doubtful in its general form, and a more differentiated view is presented. Rozhl Chir, 1999 Jun, 78(6), 295 - 8 {The diabetic foot syndrome--antibiotic therapy}; Krikava K et al.; The authors present an account on cultivation findings assembled in defects of the lower extremities of diabetic patients hospitalized at the surgical department of the Pelhrimov hospital . In the polymicrobial flora a relatively high ratio of anaerobic microorganisms was found (58%) . Based on the sensitivity, a combination of antibiotics was recommended which could be used in empirical treatment before cultivation results (clindamycin, ofloxacin, gentamycin and azlocillin) . The authors prefer results of actual sensitivity tests . The authors discuss principles of collection and processing of microbiological material and treatment . Anaerobic cultivation is specially emphasized. Ther Umsch, 1999 Nov, 56(11), 659 - 63 {Diagnosis and treatment of brain abscesses}; Nau R et al.; The etiologic pathogens of brain abscesses vary depending on the underlying disease . Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria are frequently involved simultaneously . In most cases, the clinical course is subacute . C-reactive protein is the most sensitive inflammatory parameter in the blood . It is elevated in 80 to 90% of all cases . The diagnosis is made by cranial computer tomography without and with contrast enhancement . The rapid culture of pus from the abscess cavity is crucial for the identification of the pathogen . Antibiotic therapy alone is indicated 1 . in the presence of multiple, small and/or deep-seated abscesses or 2 . when the general condition of the patient does not allow surgery at an acceptable risk or 3 . in early cerebritis without capsule formation . Frequently used surgical procedures are abscess aspiration (usually by stereotaxic surgery), open craniotomy and excision of the abscess with the capsule, and open evacuation of the abscess cavity . For empirical treatment the combination of cefotaxime (3 x 2-4 g/d i.v.) plus metronidazol (3-4 x 0.5 g/d i.v.) is preferred . Corticosteroids are indicated in the presence of a space-occupying effect and imminent brain herniation, or of multiple abscesses and abscesses in critical brain regions such as in the cerebellum. Drugs, 1999, 58 Suppl 2, 60 - 4 Quinolone activity against anaerobes; Appelbaum PC; The first generation of fluoroquinolones such as ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin are inactive against most anaerobic bacteria . However, some broad-spectrum quinolones, which have recently become clinically available or are under active development, have significant antianaerobic activity . This review summarises the in vitro activity of currently available, as well as experimental, quinolones against clinically significant anaerobic bacteria . Quinolones with low activity against anaerobes include ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, fleroxacin, pefloxacin, enoxacin and lomefloxacin . Compounds with intermediate antianaerobic activity include sparfloxacin and grepafloxacin . Trovafloxacin, gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin yield low MICs against most groups of anaerobes . Quinolones with the greatest in vitro activity against anaerobes include clinafloxacin and sitafloxacin (DU-6859a). Drugs, 1999, 58 Suppl 2, 1 - 5 The future of the quinolones; Andriole VT; This review emphasises the advances in the development of newer quinolones: their broader antimicrobial activity particularly their increased activity against Pneumococcus and anaerobes; their longer half-life and tissue penetration including activity in cerebrospinal fluid; and their excellent efficacy in respiratory, intra-abdominal, pelvic, and skin and soft tissue infections . Also, considerable progress has been made in our understanding of the development of bacterial resistance to the newer quinolones . Additional advances in quinolone development are likely to provide better compounds for clinical use. Microbiol Immunol, 1999, 43(9), 837 - 45 Fimbria-mediated coaggregation between human oral anaerobes Treponema medium and Porphyromonas gingivalis; Umemoto T et al.; Bacterial binding phenomena among different bacterial genera or species play an important role in bacterial colonization in a mixed microbiota such as in the human oral cavity . The coaggregation reaction between two gram-negative anaerobes, Treponema medium and Porphyromonas gingivalis, was characterized using fimbria-deficient mutants of P . gingivalis and specific antisera against purified fimbriae and bacterial whole cells . T . medium ATCC 700273 strongly coaggregated with fimbriate P . gingivalis strains ATCC 33277 and 381, but not with afimbriate strains including transposon-induced fimbria-deficient mutants and KDP98 as a fimA-disrupted mutant of P . gingivalis ATCC 33277 . In the P . gingivalis-T . medium coaggregation assay, the presence of rabbit antiserum against the purified fimbriae or the whole cells of P . gingivalis ATCC 33277 produced different "aggregates" consisting predominantly of P . gingivalis cells with few spirochetes, but both preimmune serum and the antiserum against the afimbriate KDP98 cells did not inhibit the coaggregation reaction . Heated P . gingivalis cells lost their ability to bind both heated and unheated T . medium cells . This T . medium-P . gingivalis coaggregation reaction was inhibited by a cysteine proteinase inhibitor, leupeptin, and also by arginine and lysine, but not by EDTA or sugars including lactose . A binding assay on nitrocellulose membranes and immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that a heat-stable 37 kDa surface protein on the T . medium cell attached to the P . gingivalis fimbriae. Nippon Rinsho, 1999 Oct, 57(10), 2187 - 92 {Vitamin B1}; Inui H et al.; Vitamin B1 (thiamin), taken-up into cells, is converted to thiamin diphosphate (TDP), and TDP acts as a cofactor for several enzymes involving in carbohydrate metabolism . CoA-dependent oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate is catalyzed by pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (PDC) with NAD+ as an electron acceptor in most organisms involving mammals and higher plants . PDC consists of three component enzymes, one of which is pyruvate dehydrogenase (lipoamide) which contains TDP as a prosthetic group . Similar multienzyme complex for 2-oxoglutarate or branched chain 2-oxoacids is also found in mammals . In anaerobic bacteria, archaebacteria and anaerobic protozoa, pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR) functions for the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate with ferredoxin in place of NAD+ . PFOR contains TDP as a cofactor; however its structure is quite different from PDC and 1-3{4Fe-4S} clusters are involved as redox centers . Pyruvate:NADP+ oxidoreductase (PNOR), which catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate with NADP+ as an electron acceptor, occurs in mitochondria of Euglena gracilis, a protist containing chloroplasts . PNOR consists of two functional domains, one of which contains TDP and 3{4Fe-4S} clusters and resembles PFOR . Another domain involves FMN and FAD as redox centers and its structure is similar to NADPH-cytochrom P450 reductase. Arch Microbiol, 1999 Dec, 172(6), 341 - 8 Microbial metabolism of methanesulfonic acid Kelly DP, Murrell JC. Methanesulfonic acid is a very stable strong acid and a key intermediate in the biogeochemical cycling of sulfur . It is formed in megatonne quantities in the atmosphere from the chemical oxidation of atmospheric dimethyl sulfide (most of which is of biogenic origin) and deposited on the Earth in rain and snow, and by dry deposition . Methanesulfonate is used by diverse aerobic bacteria as a source of sulfur for growth, but is not known to be used by anaerobes either as a sulfur source, a fermentation substrate, an electron acceptor, or as a methanogenic substrate . Some specialized methylotrophs (including Methylosulfonomonas, Marinosulfonomonas, and strains of paragraph signHyphomicrobium and Methylobacterium) can use it as a carbon and energy substrate to support growth . Methanesulfonate oxidation is initiated by cleavage catalysed by methanesulfonate monooxygenase, the properties and molecular biology of which are discussed. Nature, 1999 Nov 25, 402(6760), 377 - 85 Structure of fumarate reductase from Wolinella succinogenes at 2.2 A resolution; Lancaster CR et al.; Fumarate reductase couples the reduction of fumarate to succinate to the oxidation of quinol to quinone, in a reaction opposite to that catalysed by the related complex II of the respiratory chain (succinate dehydrogenase) . Here we describe the crystal structure at 2.2 A resolution of the three protein subunits containing fumarate reductase from the anaerobic bacterium Wolinella succinogenes . Subunit A contains the site of fumarate reduction and a covalently bound flavin adenine dinucleotide prosthetic group . Subunit B contains three iron-sulphur centres . The menaquinol-oxidizing subunit C consists of five membrane-spanning, primarily helical segments and binds two haem b molecules . On the basis of the structure, we propose a pathway of electron transfer from the dihaem cytochrome b to the site of fumarate reduction and a mechanism of fumarate reduction . The relative orientations of the soluble and membrane-embedded subunits of succinate:quinone oxidoreductases appear to be unique. Jpn J Antibiot, 1999 Aug, 52(8), 541 - 53 {In vitro antibacterial activity of faropenem, a novel oral penem antibiotic, against enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 strains}; Nasu T et al.; Against enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157 clinically isolated, the effects of faropenem (FRPM), a novel oral penem antibiotic, on the MICs, bactericidal activity, verotoxin (VT)-release, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-release were investigated in vitro and compared with those of other types of antibacterial agents . The MICs of FRPM in aerobic and anaerobic culture condition, were 0.78 and 0.39 microgram/ml, respectively . In aerobic condition, FRPM was more active than ampicillin, amoxicillin (AMPC), fosfomycin (FOM), kanamycin (KM), minocycline (MINO), and clarithromycin (CAM), but was slightly less active than cefdinir (CFDN), cefditoren (CDTR), and norfloxacin (NFLX) against O157 clinical isolates . In anaerobic condition, however, FRPM showed as strong activity as CFDN, CDTR, and NFLX . FOM, NFLX, and KM as well as the beta-lactams including FRPM indicated the powerful bactericidal activity against one strain of O157 clinical isolates . The effects of MINO and CAM were bacteriostatic . FOM and the beta-lactams including FRPM promoted verotoxin type 1 (VT1)-release, but rather suppressed verotoxin type 2 (VT2)-release from the same isolate . NFLX, however, promoted VT1-release and vast amount of VT2-release . In the case of KM, MINO, and CAM, the release suppression of both VT1 and VT2 was observed . FRPM, AMPC, and FOM had very weak activity on LPS-release, while CFDN, CDTR, and NFLX released a large amount of LPS from the strain . KM, MINO, and CAM had relatively weak activity . In these in vitro experiments, FRPM demonstrated the effective profile to the treatment for EHEC infection, except for the effect on VT1-release . These results suggest the possibility that FRPM shows good clinical efficacy for EHEC infection. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1999 Dec, 65(12), 5212 - 21 Influence of different electron donors and acceptors on dehalorespiration of tetrachloroethene by Desulfitobacterium frappieri TCE1; Gerritse J et al.; Strain TCE1, a strictly anaerobic bacterium that can grow by reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE), was isolated by selective enrichment from a PCE-dechlorinating chemostat mixed culture . Strain TCE1 is a gram-positive, motile, curved rod-shaped organism that is 2 to 4 by 0.6 to 0.8 microm and has approximately six lateral flagella . The pH and temperature optima for growth are 7.2 and 35 degrees C, respectively . On the basis of a comparative 16S rRNA sequence analysis, this bacterium was identified as a new strain of Desulfitobacterium frappieri, because it exhibited 99.7% relatedness to the D . frappieri type strain, strain PCP-1 . Growth with H(2), formate, L-lactate, butyrate, crotonate, or ethanol as the electron donor depends on the availability of an external electron acceptor . Pyruvate and serine can also be used fermentatively . Electron donors (except formate and H(2)) are oxidized to acetate and CO(2) . When L-lactate is the growth substrate, strain TCE1 can use the following electron acceptors: PCE and TCE (to produce cis-1,2-dichloroethene), sulfite and thiosulfate (to produce sulfide), nitrate (to produce nitrite), and fumarate (to produce succinate) . Strain TCE1 is not able to reductively dechlorinate 3-chloro-4-hydroxyphenylacetate . The growth yields of the newly isolated bacterium when PCE is the electron acceptor are similar to those obtained for other dehalorespiring anaerobes (e.g., Desulfitobacterium sp . strain PCE1 and Desulfitobacterium hafniense) and the maximum specific reductive dechlorination rates are 4 to 16 times higher (up to 1.4 micromol of chloride released . min(-1) . mg of protein(-1)) . Dechlorination of PCE and TCE is an inducible process . In PCE-limited chemostat cultures of strain TCE1, dechlorination is strongly inhibited by sulfite but not by other alternative electron acceptors, such as fumarate or nitrate. Infect Dis Clin North Am, 1999 Dec, 13(4), 775 - 95 Use of the clinical microbiology laboratory for the diagnosis and management of infectious diseases related to the oral cavity; Peterson LR et al.; Our knowledge regarding the pathogenesis of infections relative to the oral cavity is rapidly expanding, similar to our overall understanding of how infectious diseases impact our daily lives . The complexity of the flora within the oral cavity is quite unique and often makes diagnosis difficult; however, it is becoming more apparent that accurate diagnostic testing is important from the standpoint of focusing appropriate therapy on pathogens within this crucial body site, and avoiding overuse of antimicrobial agents in settings of infection where they have no demonstrated benefit . New diagnostic methods are being developed to detect pathogens and rapidly delineate resistance patterns . Many will be based on new genetic assays, but they must be cost effective, sensitive, and specific . Another growing challenge is to provide adequate lab support to outpatient offices and clinics, without compromising the specimen culture or turnaround times . So many patients are being seen away from hospital laboratories that we need ways to diagnose sinusitis, pharyngitis, abscess, and other infections of the oral cavity without killing the anaerobes and other significant facultative bacteria, and without ruining the direct stains by overgrowth or inflammatory cell degradation during specimen transport . These results need to be available quickly enough to give useful information for office diagnosis in order to effect therapy . To optimize both diagnosis and treatment, a key to the future will be better communication between the clinical practitioner and laboratory, with an increasing emphasis on training expertise in medical microbiology and infectious diseases. Infect Dis Clin North Am, 1999 Dec, 13(4), 757 - 74, v Oral flora and pathogenic organisms; Schuster GS; Oral microbial flora consist of numerous bacterial taxa, ranging from aerobes through fastidious anaerobes, and fungi, viruses, and protozoa . Many of these bacteria are unique to the oral cavity . The organisms exist in a complex interrelationship that is regulated and maintained by physical and metabolic microbial interactions, and by environmental factors, such as saliva and diet . Many of these organisms are relatively harmless, although others are significant pathogens, producing local and systemic diseases in healthy and compromised individuals. J Am Soc Nephrol, 1999 Nov, 10 Suppl 14, S334 - 40 Direct correlation between hyperoxaluria/oxalate stone disease and the absence of the gastrointestinal tract-dwelling bacterium Oxalobacter formigenes: possible prevention by gut recolonization or enzyme replacement therapy; Sidhu H et al.; Oxalobacter formigenes is a specific oxalate-degrading, anaerobic bacterium inhabiting the gastrointestinal tracts of vertebrates, including humans . This bacterium maintains an important symbiotic relationship with its host by regulating oxalate homeostasis, primarily by preventing enteric absorption . Increased absorption of oxalate can lead to multiple complications associated with hyperoxaluria, especially recurrent calcium oxalate urolithiasis . Detection of O . formigenes in the gastrointestinal tract has attracted attention because the absence of this bacterium appears to be a risk factor for development of hyperoxaluria and/or recurrent calcium oxalate kidney stone disease . In the present study, epidemiologic studies with patients at high risk for calcium oxalate urolithiasis showed a direct correlation between the number of recurrent kidney stone episodes and the lack of O . formigenes colonization . As expected, the lack of O . formigenes revealed a clear association with prophylactic antibiotic therapy . To confirm the importance of O . formigenes in regulating hyperoxaluria, laboratory rats known to be noncolonized were colonized with live bacteria or treated with a preparation of oxalate-degrading enzymes derived from O . formigenes to determine any subsequent increased resistance to high oxalate challenge . Rats receiving either bacteria or enzyme replacement therapy excreted far lower levels of oxalate, did not develop the crystalluria observed with control rats, and resisted the formation of calcium oxalate crystals in their nephrons . These observations, taken together, support the concept that O . formigenes is important in maintaining oxalate homeostasis, that its absence from the gut increases the risk for hyperoxaluria and recurrent kidney stone disease, and that replacement therapy is an efficient procedure to prevent hyperoxaluria and its complications. Oral Dis, 1999 Oct, 5(4), 278 - 85 Oral colonization by anaerobic bacteria during childhood: role in health and disease; Kononen E; Anaerobes constitute a significant part of bacterial communities in human mouths . Their ability to colonize and survive in the environment, where remarkable changes occur during early childhood, is fundamental for oral homeostasis . However, relatively little is known of the time of colonization and succession of anaerobic species in the oral cavity . This article presents an up-to-date review on the development of the oral anaerobic microflora in respect to age, and in addition, considers some aspects of the role of oral anaerobes in health and disease. Int J Syst Bacteriol, 1999 Oct, 49 Pt 4, 1615 - 22 Geothrix fermentans gen . nov., sp . nov., a novel Fe(III)-reducing bacterium from a hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer; Coates JD et al.; In an attempt to understand better the micro-organisms involved in anaerobic degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons in the Fe(III)-reducing zone of petroleum-contaminated aquifers, Fe(III)-reducing micro-organisms were isolated from contaminated aquifer material that had been adapted for rapid oxidation of toluene coupled to Fe(III) reduction . One of these organisms, strain H-5T, was enriched and isolated on acetate/Fe(III) medium . Strain H-5T is a Gram-negative strict anaerobe that grows with various simple organic acids such as acetate, propionate, lactate and fumarate as alternative electron donors with Fe(III) as the electron acceptor . In addition, strain H-5T also oxidizes long-chain fatty acids such as palmitate with Fe(III) as the sole electron acceptor . Strain H-5T can also grow by fermentation of citrate or fumarate in the absence of an alternative electron acceptor . The primary end-products of citrate fermentation are acetate and succinate . In addition to various forms of soluble and insoluble Fe(III), strain H-5T grows with nitrate, Mn(IV), fumarate and the humic acid analogue 2,6-anthraquinone disulfonate as alternative electron acceptors . As with other organisms that can oxidize organic compounds completely with the reduction of Fe(III), cell suspensions of strain H-5T have absorbance maxima indicative of a c-type cytochrome(s) . It is proposed that strain H-5T represents a novel genus in the Holophaga-Acidobacterium phylum and that it should be named Geothrix fermentans sp . nov., gen . nov. Int J Syst Bacteriol, 1999 Oct, 49 Pt 4, 1599 - 603 Desulfonispora thiosulfatigenes gen . nov., sp . nov., a taurine-fermenting, thiosulfate-producing anaerobic bacterium; Denger K et al.; Strain GKNTAUT has been described as a bacterium able to ferment the organosulfonate taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonate) quantitatively to acetate, ammonia and thiosulfate, an unusual metabolic product . This novel fermentation has now also been observed in four independent isolates from two continents . All five organisms were strictly anaerobic, Gram-positive, motile, spore-forming bacteria . Enrichments with isethionate (2-hydroxyethanesulfonate) and cysteate (2-amino-3-sulfopropionate), in contrast, yielded bacteria that disproportionated the sulfonate to sulfate and sulfide . The phylogenetic location of the taurine fermenters was analysed on the basis of 16S rDNA sequences . Strain GKNTAUT (= DSM 11270T = ATCC 700533T) is described as the type strain of a new genus and species, for which the name Desulfonispora thiosulfatigenes gen . nov., sp . nov . is proposed. Intensive Care Med, 1999 Oct, 25(10), 1066 - 71 Nosocomial sinusitis with isolation of anaerobic bacteria in ICU patients; Le Moal G et al.; OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency and the eventual clinical characteristics of nosocomial sinusitis with anaerobic bacteria isolation in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) . DESIGN: Retrospective study . SETTING: A 12-bed medical ICU in a teaching hospital . PATIENTS: 30 adult patients with documented nosocomial maxillary sinusitis . INTERVENTIONS: None . MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Using appropriate microbiological techniques, 33 anaerobic bacterial strains were isolated in 18/30 patients (60 %) with nosocomial sinusitis . Anaerobic bacteria were associated with aerobic strains in 13 patients (72 %), whereas in 5 patients (28 %) only anaerobic strains were isolated in sinus puncture cultures . The most frequently isolated species were Prevotella sp . (n = 20, 60 %) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (n = 5, 15 %) . The production of beta -lactamase was demonstrated in 13/27 gram-negative anaerobic bacteria . All patients in whom anaerobic bacteria were isolated from transnasal punctures had had a nasogastric tube . Patients in whom anaerobic bacteria were isolated more frequently had neurological disorders upon admission (p < 0.02) . Ten patients (30 %) had nosocomial pneumonia, 8 of whom had at least one identical strain in both lung and sinus cultures, including 2 patients with anaerobic bacteria isolation . CONCLUSIONS: Using appropriate microbiological techniques, anaerobic bacteria were frequently isolated in nosocomial sinusitis . If necessary, the empirical choice of antimicrobial therapy in patients with nosocomial sinusitis should take into account these results. Arch Microbiol, 1999 Nov, 172(5), 287 - 94 Anaerobic degradation of m-cresol by Desulfobacterium cetonicum is initiated by formation of 3-hydroxybenzylsuccinate; Muller JA et al.; The anaerobic bacterium Desulfobacterium cetonicum oxidized m-cresol completely with sulfate as electron acceptor . During growth, 3-hydroxybenzylsuccinate (identified by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy and by comparison of high-performance liquid chromatography retention time and UV spectrum with a chemically synthesized reference compound) accumulated in the medium . This finding indicates that the methyl group of m-cresol is activated by addition to fumarate as in the case of anaerobic toluene metabolism . In cell-free extracts of D . cetonicum, the formation of 3-hydroxybenzylsuccinate from m-cresol and fumarate was detected at an activity of 0.5 nmol min(-1) (mg protein)(-1) . This reaction depended strictly on anoxic assay conditions . Treatment with air resulted in a complete loss of activity; however, some activity could be recovered after restoring anoxic conditions . The activity was slightly membrane-associated . 3-Hydroxybenzylsuccinate was degraded via CoA thioesterification and further oxidation to 3-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA as subsequent steps in the degradation pathway. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1999 Nov, 65(11), 5082 - 8 Adhesion of biodegradative anaerobic bacteria to solid surfaces; van Schie PM et al.; In order to exploit the ability of anaerobic bacteria to degrade certain contaminants for bioremediation of polluted subsurface environments, we need to understand the mechanisms by which such bacteria partition between aqueous and solid phases, as well as the environmental conditions that influence partitioning . We studied four strictly anaerobic bacteria, Desulfomonile tiedjei, Syntrophomonas wolfei, Syntrophobacter wolinii, and Desulfovibrio sp . strain G11, which theoretically together can constitute a tetrachloroethylene- and trichloroethylene-dechlorinating consortium . Adhesion of these organisms was evaluated by microscopic determination of the numbers of cells that attached to glass coverslips exposed to cell suspensions under anaerobic conditions . We studied the effects of the growth phase of the organisms on adhesion, as well as the influence of electrostatic and hydrophobic properties of the substratum . Results indicate that S . wolfei adheres in considerably higher numbers to glass surfaces than the other three organisms . Starvation greatly decreases adhesion of S . wolfei and Desulfovibrio sp . strain G11 but seems to have less of an effect on the adhesion of the other bacteria . The presence of Fe(3+) on the substratum, which would be electropositive, significantly increased the adhesion of S . wolfei, whereas the presence of silicon hydrophobic groups decreased the numbers of attached cells of all species . Measurements of transport of cells through hydrophobic-interaction and electrostatic-interaction columns indicated that all four species had negatively charged cell surfaces and that D . tiedjei and Desulfovibrio sp . strain G11 possessed some hydrophobic cell surface properties . These findings are an early step toward understanding the dynamic attachment of anaerobic bacteria in anoxic environments. Trends Microbiol, 1999 Nov, 7(11), 441 - 7 Hydrogenosomes: eukaryotic adaptations to anaerobic environments; Hackstein JH et al.; Like mitochondria, hydrogenosomes compartmentalize crucial steps of eukaryotic energy metabolism; however, this compartmentalization differs substantially between mitochondriate aerobes and hydrogenosome-containing anaerobes . Because hydrogenosomes have arisen independently in different lineages of eukaryotic microorganisms, comparative analysis of the various types of hydrogenosomes can provide insights into the functional and evolutionary aspects of compartmentalized energy metabolism in unicellular eukaryotes. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1999 Nov, 43(11), 2783 - 6 In vitro activities of gatifloxacin, two other quinolones, and five nonquinolone antimicrobials against obligately anaerobic bacteria; Schaumann R et al.; The activity of the new fluoroquinolone gatifloxacin was compared with those of other quinolones and antimicrobial agents of other classes against 294 anaerobes by the broth microdilution technique . For all strains tested, gatifloxacin MICs at which 50 and 90% of the isolates were inhibited were 0.5 and 2 mg/liter, respectively, and were 3 to 4 dilution steps lower than, e.g., ciprofloxacin. Gastroenterol Clin Biol, 1999 Aug-Sep, 23(8-9), 978 - 80 {Pancreatic necrosis infection by Candida parapsilosis associated with fungemia}; Kull E et al.; Pancreatic necrosis infection is the most common complication affecting mortality of severe acute pancreatitis (death rate 80%) . Bacterial infections particularly with coliforms or anaerobes account for the majority of cases of infected necrosis . Fungal pancreatic infections with Candida species are rare and often nosocomial . We report herein the first case of pancreatic necrosis infection with Candida parapsilosis associated with fungemia confirmed by molecular typing. J Wound Care, 1999 May, 8(5), 216 - 8 Microbial involvement in chronic wound malodour; Bowler PG et al.; The role of specific micro-organisms in producing chronic wound malodour was investigated by directly comparing odour severity and microbiology in infected and non-infected leg ulcers . Malodour was most frequently associated with infected wounds involving mixed aerobic and anaerobic, Gram-positive and Gram-negative microbial populations . Infected ulcers that were not characterised by an offensive odour were rarely colonised with anaerobic bacteria . A reduced incidence of pigmented and non-pigmented Gram-negative anaerobes (Bacteriodes spp, Prevotella spp, Porphyromonas spp) was evident in non-infected, non-malodorous leg ulcers . These observations emphasise the significance of specific anaerobic bacteria in the generation of wound malodour, and it is probable that their effect is potentiated by coexistence with mixed facultative micro-organisms. J Biol Chem, 1999 Oct 29, 274(44), 31679 - 85 Cloning and sequencing of the coenzyme B(12)-binding domain of isobutyryl-CoA mutase from Streptomyces cinnamonensis, reconstitution of mutase activity, and characterization of the recombinant enzyme produced in Escherichia coli; Ratnatilleke A et al.; Isobutyryl-CoA mutase (ICM) catalyzes the reversible, coenzyme B(12)-dependent rearrangement of isobutyryl-CoA to n-butyryl-CoA, which is similar to, but distinct from, that catalyzed by methylmalonyl-CoA mutase . ICM has been detected so far in a variety of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, where it appears to play a key role in valine and fatty acid catabolism . ICM from Streptomyces cinnamonensis is composed of a large subunit (IcmA) of 62.5 kDa and a small subunit (IcmB) of 14.3 kDa . icmB encodes a protein of 136 residues with high sequence similarity to the cobalamin-binding domains of methylmalonyl-CoA mutase, glutamate mutase, methyleneglutarate mutase, and cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase, including a conserved DXHXXG cobalamin-binding motif . Using IcmA and IcmB produced separately in Escherichia coli, we show that IcmB is necessary and sufficient with IcmA and coenzyme B(12) to afford the active ICM holoenzyme . The large subunit (IcmA) forms a tightly associated homodimer, whereas IcmB alone exists as a monomer . In the absence of coenzyme B(12), the association between IcmA and IcmB is weak . The ICM holoenzyme appears to comprise an alpha(2)beta(2)-heterotetramer with up to two molecules of bound coenzyme B(12) . The equilibrium constant for the ICM reaction at 30 degrees C is 1.7 in favor of isobutyryl-CoA, and the pH optimum is near 7.4 . The K(m) values for isobutyryl-CoA, n-butyryl-CoA, and coenzyme B(12) determined with an equimolar ratio of IcmA and IcmB are 57 +/- 13, 54 +/- 12, and 12 +/- 2 microM, respectively . A V(max) of 38 +/- 3 units/mg IcmA and a k(cat) of 39 +/- 3 s(-1) were determined under saturating molar ratios of IcmB to IcmA. J Crit Care, 1999 Sep, 14(3), 114 - 9 Nosocomial pneumonia with isolation of anaerobic bacteria in ICU patients: therapeutic considerations and outcome; Robert R et al.; PURPOSE: Evaluate the influence of the anti-anaerobic antimicrobial therapy in the outcome of patients with nosocomial pneumonia . MATERIALS AND METHODS: The population study included 53 intensive care unit patients with nosocomial pneumonia in whom, using a protected specimen brush, anaerobic bacteria were isolated, which were associated or not with aerobes . Current and empirical antibiotherapies were retrospectively analyzed, regarding their efficacy against anaerobic bacteria . Since it was debated, sensitivity to cefotaxime, ceftazidime, and ciprofloxacin was determined in 38 strains of Prevotella species . Outcome was evaluated 10 days after the day of protected specimen brushes . Improvement was defined as a decrease of Murray score or ventilator weaning . Results: The most frequently isolated bacteria were Prevotella species, which were more frequently resistant to cefotaxime (37%), ceftazidime (50%), and ciprofloxacine (32%) than usually reported in the literature . Sixty-six percent of these strains produced beta-lactamase . The effect of empirical anti-anaerobic antibiotherapy on the outcome at day 10 was evaluable in 39 patients . Twenty-nine patients were improved and 10 patients worsened . Interestingly, patients who had received well-adapted antibiotics against anaerobes had a better outcome after 10 days (P < .02) . CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that specific antianaerobic therapy may be considered in the choice of empirical antibiotherapy in patients with nosocomial pneumonia. Int J Antimicrob Agents, 1999 Aug, 12 Suppl 1, S15 - 20; discussion S26-7 The role of beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitors in the management of mixed infections; Akalin HE; Microbiological studies show that the in vitro antimicrobial activity of sulbactam-ampicillin encompasses not only gram-positive and gram-negative aerobes, but also anaerobes . Such a broad spectrum of activity suggests its suitability as monotherapy for the empiric management of polymicrobial infections . Typical mixed infections, which are frequently life-threatening, include those occurring in the abdomen or pelvis, diabetic foot infections, and brain abscess . Numerous comparative clinical studies have revealed the clinical and bacteriological efficacy of sulbactam-ampicillin to be comparable to that of imipenem cilastatin and the second-generation cephalosporins cefoxitin and cefotetan . In addition, other studies have demonstrated that sulbactam-ampicillin monotherapy is cost-beneficial . A reduction in the duration of hospitalization, the lack of potentially toxic side-effects, and lower drug costs associated with monotherapy all contribute to the cost-effectiveness of sulbactam-ampicillin. Crit Rev Microbiol, 1999, 25(3), 155 - 72 Bacterial interference; Brook I; Bacterial interactions, antagonistic and synergistic, help maintain the balance in the normal endogenous flora . The production of bacteriocins by microorganisms is one of the important mechanisms used for interference . The ability of various microorganisms to produce bacteriocins and exhibit interfering capability is detailed in the review . These organisms include Gram-positive and Gram-negative aerobic and anaerobic bacteria . The role of bacterial interference (BI) in clinical infections and the effect of this phenomenon on their eradication is detailed . The infections discussed include those of the upper respiratory (pharyngo-tonsillitis, otitis media), urogenital, and gastrointestinal tracts . The influence of antimicrobial agents on these organisms and their interactions with other bacteria are also described. Amino Acids, 1999, 17(2), 185 - 93 Utilization of D-amino acids by Fusobacterium nucleatum and Fusobacterium varium; Ramezani M et al.; The utilization of D- and L-amino acids with acidic, basic or polar side chains was demonstrated by HPLC . Two species of the anaerobe Fusobacterium utilized D-lysine and the L isomers of glutamate, glutamine, histidine, lysine and serine . Only F . varium used L-arginine, D-glutamate and D-serine as substrates, whereas F . nucleatum specifically utilized D-histidine and D-glutamine . D-Glutamate accumulated in F . nucleatum cultures supplemented with D-glutamine, and ornithine was detected when either DL- or L-arginine was included in F . varium cultures . Based on literature precedents, D-glutamate and D-histidine are isomerized to their L isomers prior to degradation, but separate catabolic pathways are possible for each enantiomer of lysine and serine. Laryngoscope, 1999 Oct, 109(10), 1616 - 20 Management of lateral sinus thrombosis; Syms MJ et al.; OBJECTIVES: Review the clinical signs and symptoms, management, bacteriology and outcomes of patients treated for lateral sinus thrombosis . STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective review of six patients, treated from 1993 through 1998, with an intraoperatively confirmed diagnosis of lateral sinus thrombosis . METHODS: All charts from 1993 through 1998 coded for sinus thrombosis, meningitis, brain abscess, otitic hydrocephalus, subdural abscess, and mastoidectomy were reviewed . Operative reports, radiological examinations, laboratory data, culture data and other pertinent data were reviewed . RESULTS: The presenting symptoms ranged from headache to mental status changes . All patients had a history of chronic ear disease and all had at least one additional intracranial complication . The range of additional intracranial complications included otitic hydrocephalus, epidural abscess, and brain abscess . All of the infections were polymicrobial, with a predominance of anaerobes . There were no mortalities; morbidities included anacusis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, reoperation, seizures, septic cardiomyopathy, transfusion, ventriculoperitoneal shunt and nutritional supplementation . CONCLUSION: In patients with otologic disease, complaints of headache, earache or photophobia should warrant an evaluation . The presence of lateral sinus thrombosis mandates further investigation for additional intracranial complications . Conservative surgical intervention, consisting of removal of all perisinus infection and needle aspiration of the sinus, has been found to be effective . Lateral sinus thrombosis is an uncommon complication of otitis media, with potentially significant morbidities, necessitating a high index of suspicion. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 1999 Oct, 181(4), 784 - 8 Association of oligohydramnios in women with preterm premature rupture of membranes with an inflammatory response in fetal, amniotic, and maternal compartments; Yoon BH et al.; OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to examine whether oligohydramnios in women with preterm premature rupture of membranes is associated with evidence of fetal, amniotic, and maternal inflammatory responses . STUDY DESIGN: Amniotic fluid index was measured before the performance of amniocentesis in patients with preterm premature rupture of membranes . Fifty-nine patients who were delivered of preterm neonates (gestational age </=35 weeks) within 3 days of amniocentesis were included in this study . Amniotic fluid was cultured for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and for genital mycoplasmas . The intensity of the inflammatory response was evaluated by the following: presence of clinical and histologic chorioamnionitis; amniotic fluid concentrations of interleukin 6, interleukin 1beta, and tumor necrosis factor alpha; amniotic fluid white blood cell count; and interleukin 6 concentrations in umbilical cord plasma at birth . Proinflammatory cytokines were measured with specific and sensitive immunoassays . RESULTS: Thirty-two percent (19/59) of patients had an amniotic fluid index </=5 cm . Patients with an amniotic fluid index </=5 cm had significantly higher rates of positive amniotic fluid culture results and clinical and histologic chorioamnionitis; higher median amniotic fluid concentrations of interleukin 6, interleukin 1beta, and tumor necrosis factor alpha; and higher median cord plasma concentrations of interleukin 6 than did those with an amniotic fluid index >5 cm (positive amniotic fluid culture result, 79% {15/19} vs 30% {12/40}; clinical chorioamnionitis, 37% {7/19} vs 5% {2/40}; histologic chorioamnionitis, 100% {17/17} vs 69% {24/35}; median amniotic fluid interleukin 6 concentration, 13.5 ng/mL; range, 0.2-142.2 ng/mL vs 3.0 ng/mL and 0.001-115.2 ng/mL; median amniotic fluid interleukin 1beta concentration, 348.0 pg/mL; range, 0.7->80, 000 pg/mL vs 36.6 pg/mL and 0-2075 pg/mL; median amniotic fluid tumor necrosis factor alpha concentration, 132.0 pg/mL; range, 0-1600 pg/mL vs 11.2 pg/mL and 0-1305 pg/mL; median cord plasma interleukin 6 concentration, 49.7 pg/mL; range, 4.4-7400 pg/mL vs 9 . 1 pg/mL and 0-5211 pg/mL; P <.05 for each) . There was no significant difference between the 2 groups of patients in the mean umbilical artery pH at birth . CONCLUSION: Oligohydramnios in women with preterm premature rupture of membranes is associated with an inflammatory response in the fetal, amniotic, and maternal compartments. J Dent Res, 1999 Oct, 78(10), 1634 - 9 Establishment of oral anaerobes during the first year of life; Kononen E et al.; Anaerobic species constitute a significant part of the bacterial community of the mouth . Although the time and species involved in the primary colonization of infants are of great importance by forming the basis for further colonization, the development of the oral anaerobic microflora with age is still inadequately understood . In the present study, time and succession of colonization of oral anaerobes were longitudinally examined in 44 healthy Caucasian infants at 2, 6, and 12 months of age . Unstimulated saliva samples were quantitatively cultured on non-selective Brucella blood agar and several selective media for the isolation of anaerobic micro-organisms . The most frequent anaerobic finding in two-month-old infants was Veillonella spp . The Prevotella melaninogenica group also represented early colonizing species, and the frequency increased remarkably during the first year of life, whereas the Prevotella intermedia group organisms seemed to be late colonizers . Fusobacterium nucleatum, non-pigmented Prevotella spp., and Porphyromonas catoniae were occasional findings in subjects at 2 months but frequent findings in those at one year of age . F . nucleatum was the most frequent strictly anaerobic species in one-year-old infants; other fusobacteria were also occasionally found . The frequency of facultative/micro-aerophilic corroding rods and Capnocytophaga spp . started to increase toward the end of the first year . Except for the common presence of facultative/micro-aerophilic Actinomyces spp., other anaerobic gram-positive species were only occasionally present in these infants . Once established, early-colonizing species tended to persist in the mouth . Our longitudinal study demonstrated the establishment of several anaerobic species with steadily increasing frequencies during the first year of life. Jpn J Antibiot, 1999 Jul, 52(7), 504 - 10 {Clinical studies of faropenem in the field of obstetrics and gynecology}; Chimura T et al.; The clinical effect of faropenem was evaluated in 165 ambulatory patients with various infections in the field of obstetrics and gynecology at 10 institutions in Yamagata Prefecture . The results obtained are summarized below . 1 . The rate of efficacy, as determined from the clinical effect following 3- to 7-day repeated administration at a dose of 600 mg/day, was 97.9% (46/47) for intrauterine infections, 92.0% (23/25) for adnexitis, 93.8% (15/16) for external genital infections, 88.9% (8/9) for mastitis, 94.0% (63/67) for cystitis, and 100% (1/1) for cervicitis . The overall efficacy rate was estimated to be 94.5% (156/165) . 2 . The rate of clinical efficacy, as classified by isolate, was high, 95.1% for Gram-positive bacteria, 100% for Gram-negative bacteria, and 100% for anaerobes . As for bacteriological response classified by isolate, the eradication rate was high, 91.4% (74/81) for Gram-positive bacteria, 98.4% (62/63) for Gram-negative bacteria, 89.5% (17/19) for anaerobes, and 93.9% (153/163) in all . 3 . No adverse reactions or laboratory abnormalities were observed in any patient . The results presented suggest that faropenem is a highly safe and effective antibiotic for the treatment of obstetric or gynecological infections of various kinds in an ambulatory setting. Science, 1999 Oct 8, 286(5438), 306 - 9 Anaerobic microbes: oxygen detoxification without superoxide dismutase; Jenney FE Jr et al.; Superoxide reductase from the hyperthermophilic anaerobe Pyrococcus furiosus uses electrons from reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, by way of rubredoxin and an oxidoreductase, to reduce superoxide to hydrogen peroxide, which is then reduced to water by peroxidases . Unlike superoxide dismutase, the enzyme that protects aerobes from the toxic effects of oxygen, SOR does not catalyze the production of oxygen from superoxide and therefore confers a selective advantage on anaerobes . Superoxide reductase and associated proteins are catalytically active 80 degrees C below the optimum growth temperature (100 degrees C) of P . furiosus, conditions under which the organism is likely to be exposed to oxygen. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1999 Oct, 43(10), 2547 - 9 Bactericidal activity and postantibiotic effect of levofloxacin against anaerobes; Pendland SL et al.; The bactericidal activity and postantibiotic effect (PAE) of levofloxacin against nine anaerobes were determined . Levofloxacin at concentrations of the MIC and twice the MIC was bactericidal at 24 h to five of nine and nine of nine strains, respectively . The PAE of levofloxacin following a 2-h exposure ranged from 0.06 to 2.88 h. Nature, 1999 Sep 16, 401(6750), 266 - 9 Methane formation from long-chain alkanes by anaerobic microorganisms; Zengler K et al.; Biological formation of methane is the terminal process of biomass degradation in aquatic habitats where oxygen, nitrate, ferric iron and sulphate have been depleted as electron acceptors . The pathway leading from dead biomass to methane through the metabolism of anaerobic bacteria and archaea is well understood for easily degradable biomolecules such as carbohydrates, proteins and lipids . However, little is known about the organic compounds that lead to methane in old anoxic sediments where easily degradable biomolecules are no longer available . One class of naturally formed long-lived compounds in such sediments is the saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes) . Alkanes are usually considered to be inert in the absence of oxygen, nitrate or sulphate, and the analysis of alkane patterns is often used for biogeochemical characterization of sediments . However, alkanes might be consumed in anoxic sediments below the zone of sulphate reduction, but the underlying process has not been elucidated . Here we used enrichment cultures to show that the biological conversion of long-chain alkanes to the simplest hydrocarbon, methane, is possible under strictly anoxic conditions. Protein Expr Purif, 1999 Oct, 17(1), 33 - 40 Overexpression, purification, and characterization of the thermostable mevalonate kinase from Methanococcus jannaschii; Huang KX et al.; We report here the first overexpression and characterization of a thermostable mevalonate kinase from an archae, Methanococcus jannaschii, a strict anaerobe, which produces methane and grows at pressure of 200 atm and an optimum temperature near 85 degrees C . PCR-derived DNA fragments containing the structural gene for mevalonate kinase were cloned into an expression vector, pET28a, to form pETMVK . The mevalonate kinase was overexpressed from Escherichia coli pETMVK/BL21(DE3) (15-20% of total soluble protein) when induced with isopropyl beta-d-thiogalactopyranoside . The protein was purified by heat treatment (to denature E . coli proteins), followed by metal-affinity chromatography on Talon metal-affinity resin column . The purified protein had a dimeric structure composed of identical subunits, and the M(r) of the enzyme determined by gel chromatography was 68K . Based on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the subunit M(r) was 36, 000 . The pI for mevalonate kinase was 7.8 . The Michaelis constant (K(m)) for (RS)-mevalonate was 68.5 microM and was 92 microM for ATP . The V(max) was 387 units mg(-1) . The optimal temperature for mevalonate kinase activity was 70-75 degrees C . Oral Microbiol Immunol, 1999 Jun, 14(3), 197 - 200 Identical clonal types of Porphyromonas gingivalis or Prevotella nigrescens recovered from infected root canals and subgingival plaque; Goncalves RB et al.; Clinical samples from 10 infected root canals and from subgingival plaque in 10 patients were screened by anaerobic culture for black-pigmented anaerobes . A total of 17 Porphyromonas gingivalis and 9 Prevotella nigrescens were obtained from four patients and were identified by species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification . The arbitrarily primed PCR reaction used to examine the genetic diversity of the isolates revealed that the P . gingivalis or P . nigrescens simultaneously present in the root canal system and in subgingival plaque of all four patients were genotypically indistinguishable . These data indicate that the endodontium and the periodontium can be colonized by the same clonal types of black-pigmented anaerobes. Lijec Vjesn, 1999 Jun, 121(6), 175 - 80 {The diabetic foot . The Croatian model--national consensus (clinical recommendations for diagnosis, prevention and therapy)}; Coce F et al.; Diabetic foot occurs due to the loss of protective sense and circulation disorder and a marked proneness to infections . Mechanical stress of bone growths frequently leads to ulcerations . The prevention and timely treatment of diabetic foot requires the participation of both patients and all health care levels . This consensus is given for the purpose of procedure standardization . Education is the basis of prevention and should be carried out with every patient suffering from diabetes mellitus and those with a sensory defect in particular . Appropriate footwear significantly contributes to prevention and treatment of ulcers . As regards the treatment, the necessity of surgical approach with a long term and often manifold antibiotic therapy should be pointed out . Infections are usually mixed . The deeper the ulceration, the more likely the infection with anaerobes and Gram-negative bacteria occurs in addition to Gram-positive ones which are normally present in surface lesions . Strict metabolic control is a precondition for successful treatment . In conclusion, diabetic foot is a major health problem which requires multidisciplinary approach with permanent patient education as its essential part, and a specific cooperation of all levels and different health care specialties. Indian J Exp Biol, 1999 May, 37(5), 450 - 4 Development and evaluation of transdermal formulations containing metronidazole and norfloxacin for the treatment of burn wound; Pandey S et al.; In an attempt for better treatment of partial thickness burn wounds topical ointments containing metronidazole and norfloxacin in different bases were prepared and in vitro release was conducted in phosphate buffer pH 6 . It was found that, diffusion of the metronidazole and norfloxacin from the lanolin petrolatum base with 0.25% w/w dimethyl sulfoxide was maximum through hairless rat abdominal skin . Antimicrobial activity of different prepared formulations was found to be more effective both against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria than marketed formulation (1% silver sulfadiazine cream USP) . Formulations were significantly effective as compared to that of marketed formulation in wound contraction of the partial thickness burn wound . Histopathological reports supported effectiveness of formulations . It was found that 1% metronidazole and 1% norfloxacin ointments are suitable for treating the partial thickness burn wound. Surg Today, 1999, 29(9), 935 - 8 Generalized peritonitis with pneumoperitoneum caused by the spontaneous perforation of pyometra without malignancy: report of a case; Inui A et al.; Spontaneous perforation is a very rare complication of pyometra . We report herein the case of an 88-year-old woman who presented with muscular rigidity and free air on abdominal X-ray films . Perforation of the gastrointestinal tract was diagnosed preoperatively, and an emergency laparotomy was performed . A total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was carried out under the diagnosis of generalized peritonitis caused by the spontaneous perforation of pyometra . The culture of purulent fluid from the abdominal cavity showed only Escherichia coli, with no anaerobic bacteria . Histological examination revealed pyometra with necrosis of the endometrium and no evidence of malignancy . The patient was discharged on postoperative day 68 without any major complications . Pyometra is an unusual cause of peritonitis, but it must be considered as a possible diagnosis in elderly women presenting with an acute abdomen . Following this case report, we discuss the problems associated with establishing a correct preoperative diagnosis of generalized peritonitis caused by the spontaneous perforation of pyometra. Kansenshogaku Zasshi, 1999 Jul, 73(7), 675 - 80 {Clinical evaluation of anaerobic infections in patients with bronchopulmonary infections diagnosed by transtracheal aspiration}; Konishi M et al.; We evaluated the clinical and bacteriologic features in the patients with bronchopulmonary infections isolated anaerobes from transtracheal aspirates between April 1990 and March 1998 . Some anaerobe was isolated in 42 (10.9%) in 387 patients whom we performed transtracheal aspiration (TTA), in 42 (15.7%) of 268 in whom some organism was isolated from TTA, or in 42 (16.3%) of 257 patients in whom some bacterium excluding acid-fast bacteria, fungi or mycoplasma from TTA . The isolation rate of anaerobic bacteria was 93.3% in the patients with lung abscess, 22.7% in the patients with nosocomial pneumonia, 19.4% in the patients with community-acquired pneumonia, 26.7% in the patients with acute exacerbation of chronic lower respiratory tract infection (CLRTI), 1.6% in the patients with persistent infection of CLRTI, and 3.0% in the patients with acute bronchitis, respectively . The major anaerobes, isolated from TTA, were Peptostreptococcus micros and Prevotella melaninogenica . The aerobic bacteria were isolated with anaerobic bacteria in 32 of 42 patients at the same time . The quantitive grade of colonial growth of anaerobes was equal to or more than aerobes in the patients with lung abscess and pneumonia . We mostly administrated 3rd generation cephems or carbapenems with or without clindamycin for the treatment of anaerobic infections . Forty-one of 42 patients were cured only by the therapy of antimicrobial agents, but pneumonia patient with lung cancer died in spite of adequate antimicrobial therapy . These results suggest that the anaerobic infections are important in the bronchopulmonary infections. Chemosphere, 1999 Oct, 39(9), 1445 - 58 Biodegradation of coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls by anaerobic microorganisms from estuarine sediments; Kuo CE et al.; In this study, we investigated the biodegradability of biphenyl and 5 congeners (one non-planar and four coplanar) of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) . Biphenyl, the non-planar congener 2,3',4',5-tetrachlorobiphenyl (25-34 CB), and the four coplanar congeners 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (34-34 CB), 3,4,4',5-tetrachlorobiphenyl (345-4 CB), 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (345-34 CB), and 3,3',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (345-345 CB) were amended at a concentration of 10 mg/L into anoxic sediment slurries collected from the estuaries of the Tansui River and the Erjen River . During 2 years' incubation under sulfidogenic conditions, biphenyl was persistent, while all other chlorinated congeners, except for 345-345 CB, were dechlorinated with or without a lag period in sediment slurries collected from both rivers . Dechlorination of coplanar and non-planar congeners began with para chlorine removal . All para chlorines from the mono-, di-, and trichlorobiphenyl groups could be removed by sediment slurries from both rivers . Microbial communities in sediment from the Erjen River additionally fostered meta-dechlorination activity, but only after removal of all the para chlorines . Addition of Tween 20 (0.05%, v/v) into sediment slurries from the Tansui River did not enhance dechlorination rates or extents, but the addition of toluene- or 3-chlorobenzoate-adapted sediments enhanced dechlorination of 34-34 CB and 345-4 CB. Bull Cancer, 1999 Jul-Aug, 86(7-8), 611 - 3 {Dietary fibre intake and colon cancer}; Jeanteur P; This paper summarizes the contradictory epidemiological data concerning the association between vegetal fibres intake and colorectal cancer incidence . The key to these discrepancies might reside in the different amounts and ratios of butyrate and other short chain fatty acids (SCFA) produced by colonic anaerobic bacteria during fermentation of fibers from different origins, wheat bran fibers being better producers and therefore more protective . Butyrate, an established histone deacetylase inhibitor, acts by favoring an active chromatin configuration of the P21WAF1/CIP1 gene which, as an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent protein-kinases, blocks the cell cycle. J Periodontol, 1999 Aug, 70(8), 888 - 92 Resistance profile survey of 50 periodontal strains of Actinobacillus actinomyectomcomitans; Madinier IM et al.; BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance has been increasingly described among bacterial species colonizing periodontal pockets, particularly in Prevotella and Porphyromonas spp . strains producing beta-lactamases, and frequently associated with resistance to tetracycline and erythromycin . These resistance genes may be carried on motile genetic elements, or transposons, capable of interspecies and intergeneric transmission among bacterial strains colonizing a same ecological niche . The aim of this prospective study was to determine the resistance profile of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and the prevalence of A . actinomycetemcomitans strains producing beta-lactamases in periodontal pockets . METHODS: Fifty strains of A . actinomycetemcomitans were isolated from 42 patients with adult periodontitis . No patient had periodontal or antibiotic therapy in the previous 6 months . Bacterial samples were collected from periodontal pockets > or =5 mm, appropriately diluted, inoculated onto selective medium (chocolate blood agar with bacitracin 75 microg/ml and vancomycin 5 microm/ml) and incubated for 5 days at 37 degrees C in air with 5% CO2 . After conventional identification, susceptibility testing to 11 antibiotics was performed by the broth dilution method, in trypticase soy broth supplemented with yeast extract, hemin, and 0.1% NaHCO3 to maintain microaerophilic conditions in the microtitration plate wells by CO2 formation . RESULTS: No strain demonstrated resistance to amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid combination, pristinamycin, or ciprofloxacin at the breakpoint, but 40% of the strains were slightly resistant to penicillin G, and 4% were resistant to erythromycin, 90% to spiramycin, 18% to clarythromycin, 4% to tetracycline, 72% to metronidazole, and 12% to ornidazole . Amoxicillin, followed by tetracycline and erythromycin, was the most effective antibiotic on A . actinomycetemcomitans . The phenotypic research of a beta-lactamase was negative for all the strains tested . CONCLUSIONS: In this work, most A . actinomycetemcomitans strains were resistant to metronidazole, but the amoxicillin-metronidazole association may be of interest against subgingival anaerobic and capnophilic mixed flora . Pristinamycin and ciprofloxacin appeared as effective alternative monotherapies against A . actinomycetemcomitans . The threat of beta-lactam antibiotic resistance related to beta-lactamase production is currently not a problem with A . actinomycetemcomitans as it has been reported in oral anaerobes. Int J STD AIDS, 1999 Aug, 10(8), 508 - 13 Universal prophylaxis for Chlamydia trachomatis and anaerobic vaginosis in women attending for suction termination of pregnancy: an audit of short-term health gains; Blackwell AL et al.; A previous study of infection and morbidity in 400 women attending for termination of pregnancy (TOP) had shown that 32 (8%) harboured cervical Chlamydia trachomatis and 112 (28%) had anaerobic (bacterial) vaginosis (AV) . Fifty-three per cent of the women with preoperative C . trachomatis had AV . Thirty of the 32 women with chlamydial infection were followed up and 19 (63%) of these developed post-abortion upper genital tract infection, 7 of whom needed re-admission . In view of the high morbidity in women with chlamydial infection attending for TOP, anti-bacterial prophylaxis with metronidazole suppositories and oral oxytetracycline was introduced for women attending for suction termination of pregnancy (STOP) . An audit of the clinical and financial benefits and/or losses was carried out . The audit of 1951 consecutive patients attending for STOP revealed that 132 (6.8%) had chlamydial infection with equivocal results reported in a further 2 patients . One hundred and eight of the 134 women responded to recall . Full genital tract infection screening was carried out in 105 of the 108 recalled patients of whom 5 had repeat positive cervical swabs for C . trachomatis, one had Trichomonas vaginalis, 24 had candidiasis and 17 had anaerobic vaginosis, none had gonorrhoea . Thirteen (12%) of the 108 women had pelvic infection as previously defined, none of whom required re-admission . At least pound sterling 20,000 has been saved each year in our Trust following the introduction of pre-abortion chlamydial screening and universal antichlamydial and anti-anaerobe prophylaxis . The introduction of universal prophylaxis against C . trachomatis and AV has profoundly reduced morbidity in patients attending for TOP and has also resulted in substantial financial savingsPIP: This paper presents an audit of the clinical and financial benefits and/or losses of a new management protocol for Chlamydia trachomatis and anaerobic vaginosis (AV) in women requesting suction termination of pregnancy (STOP) . This management protocol is known as the Singleton Regimen and involves the introduction of an antibacterial prophylaxis with metronidazole suppositories and oral oxytetracycline . The audit included 1951 patients requesting STOP at the Singleton Hospital between January 1992 and October 1993; 132 of them had chlamydial infection . A total of 108 women responded to recall . Full genital tract infection screening was carried out in 105 of the 108 recalled patients . Of the 105 patients, 5 had repeat positive cervical swabs for C . trachomatis, 1 had Trichomonas vaginalis, 24 had candidiasis, and 17 had anaerobic vaginosis . 13 of the 108 women had pelvic infection; none of them required readmission . In conclusion, the introduction of universal prophylaxis against C . trachomatis and AV has significantly reduced morbidity in patients obtaining a termination of pregnancy and has also resulted in substantial financial savings . Int J Artif Organs, 1999 May, 22(5), 307 - 12 Elimination of meropenem by continuous hemo(dia) filtration: an in vitro one-compartment model; Schroeder TH et al.; Meropenem is a carbapenem antibiotic with a wide spectrum of activity against most gram positive and gram negative bacteria including anaerobes . Dose adjustments are necessary during continuous renal replacement therapies of acute renal failure . This in vitro study was conducted to investigate the influence of different filter materials, surface areas (AN-69 0.6 m2 and 0.9 m2, polysulfone 0.75 m2, polyamide 0.6 m2), and increasing flow rates (from 3.3 - 26.7 ml/min) on the elimination of meropenem in an in vitro continuous hemo(dia)filtration model . Meropenem was measured using HPLC with UV-detection . While the clearance increased proportionally to increasing dialysate flow rates in filters with a surface area of 0.9 m2, a peak clearance was reached in the small filters at flow rates of 10.0 ml/min (polyamide 0.6 m2) and 18.3 ml/min (AN-69 0.6 m2), when tested under the same conditions . This indicated incomplete dialysate saturation due to the diminished time available for meropenem to equilibrate with the dialysate solution . No adsorption to either of the tested membranes was detected . Dosage recommendations derived from clinical studies might be appropriate when different filter materials, but similar operational settings of the continuous replacement therapy, are applied . Reduction of the recommended dose might be necessary, when renal replacement therapies with lower flow rates and/or filters with smaller surface areas are carried out. J Eukaryot Microbiol, 1999 Jul-Aug, 46(4), 447 - 9 Keto-acid oxidoreductases in the anaerobic protozoa; Upcroft JA et al.; In anaerobes, decarboxylation of pyruvate is executed by the enzyme pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase, which donates electrons to ferredoxin . The pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase and its homologues utilise many alternative substrates in bacterial anaerobes . The pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase from anaerobic protozoa, such as Giardia duodenalis, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Entamoeba histolytica have retained this diversity in usage of alternative keto acids for energy production utilising a wide variety of substrates . In addition to this flexibility, both T . vaginalis and G . duodenalis have alternative enzymes that are active in metronidazole-resistant parasites and that do not necessarily involve donation of electrons to characterized ferredoxins . Giardia duodenalis has two oxoacid oxidoreductases, including pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase and T . vaginalis has at least three . These alternative oxoacid oxidoreductases apparently do not share homology with the characterized pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase in either organism . Independently, both G . duodenalis and T . vaginalis have retained alternative oxoacid oxidoreductase activities that are clearly important for the survival of these parasitic protists. Klin Lab Diagn, 1999 Jun, (6), 45 - 7 {Trend in rapid diagnosis of purulent infections pathogens and rapid assessment of treatment efficacy}; Akaizin ES et al.; A method for rapid diagnosis of wound infection based on gas chromatographic detection of metabolites of anaerobic bacteria is proposed . If acetic acid is present in pathological material from the wounds, bacteriological analysis detects facultative anaerobic bacteria in 71% cases. Infect Immun, 1999 Sep, 67(9), 4352 - 9 Host responses to recombinant hemagglutinin B of Porphyromonas gingivalis in an experimental rat model; Katz J et al.; Porphyromonas gingivalis, a gram-negative, black-pigmented anaerobe, is among the microorganisms implicated in the etiology of adult periodontal disease . This bacterium possesses a number of factors, including hemagglutinins, of potential importance in virulence . Several hemagglutinin genes have been identified, cloned, and expressed in Escherichia coli . The purpose of this study was to characterize host responses to purified recombinant hemagglutinin B (rHag B), using the conventional Fischer rat as the experimental animal model . The effectiveness of immunization with rHag B on protection against experimental periodontal bone loss following infection with P . gingivalis was also evaluated . Groups of rats were immunized by the subcutaneous route with rHag B in complete Freund's adjuvant, immunized with rHag B and orally infected with P . gingivalis, nonimmunized and noninfected, or orally infected with P . gingivalis only . Serum and saliva samples were collected throughout the experiment and evaluated for serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM and salivary IgA antibody activity by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay . No salivary IgA anti-Hag B activity was detected in the various groups of rats . A slight serum IgM response similar to that seen in preimmune samples was observed . Serum IgG antibody activity to Hag B was detected only in samples from rats immunized with rHag B . This response was primarily of the IgG1 and IgG2a subclasses, followed by IgG2b and low levels of IgG2c . Supernatants from rHag B-stimulated splenic lymphoid cell cultures from immunized rats contained high levels of gamma interferon, followed by interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-10, and then IL-4 . These results are consistent with the induction of T helper type 1 (Th1)- and Th2-like responses . Western blot analysis of sera derived from rHag B-immunized rats reacted with trichloroacetic acid (TCA) precipitates of P . gingivalis 33277, 381, A7A1-28, and W50, revealing a 50-kDa band reflective of Hag B . However, sera derived from rats immunized with P . gingivalis whole cells or from rats infected with P . gingivalis only did not react with rHag B but did react with TCA precipitates of P . gingivalis strains . Finally, radiographic measurements of periodontal bone loss indicated that rats immunized with rHag B had less bone loss than those infected with P . gingivalis only . These results demonstrate the effectiveness of purified rHag B in inducing a protective immune response and support the potential usefulness of this component of P . gingivalis in the development of a vaccine against adult periodontitis. Clin Excell Nurse Pract, 1998 Jul, 2(4), 212 - 7 Bacterial vaginosis: a review; Winefield AD et al.; Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a clinically definable condition that is frequently diagnosed in the primary care setting . Changes in the nomenclature, causative microorganisms, as well as treatment have caused confusion over the last century . BV is currently viewed as a shift in the normal vaginal ecosystem from a predominance of aerobic bacteria to anaerobic bacteria (Soper, 1993), resulting in a malodorous discharge . However, more than one half of clinically diagnosed patients are asymptomatic . Recent evidence indicates that the anaerobes identified as components of BV have been implicated in obstetric complications, postoperative pelvic infections, and pelvic inflammatory disease . Practice issues resulting from this research include the appropriate treatment of asymptomatic women, especially in pregnancy . This article reviews BV from a historical perspective, provides a summary of recent research findings identifying BV as a possible risk factor in various serious medical conditions and their sequelae, and discusses related practice concerns resulting from the implications of these findings. J Clin Microbiol, 1999 Sep, 37(9), 3041 - 3 Evaluation of the effects of storage in two different swab fabrics and under three different transport conditions on recovery of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria; Roelofsen E et al.; Recovery of six anaerobic and five aerobic pathogens from viscose swabs and polyurethane swabs (Culturette EZ) was evaluated quantitatively, and transport in aerobic dry tubes, aerobic Amies transport medium (Transwab), and anaerobic universal transport medium (Port-a-Cul) was compared . The Culturette EZ in aerobic dry tubes gave the highest recovery levels . Data obtained with clinical specimens confirmed these results. J Biol Chem, 1999 Aug 13, 274(33), 23565 - 9 The extremely conserved pyroA gene of Aspergillus nidulans is required for pyridoxine synthesis and is required indirectly for resistance to photosensitizers; Osmani AH et al.; Numerous disparate studies in plants, filamentous fungi, yeast, Archaea, and bacteria have identified one of the most highly conserved proteins (SNZ family) for which no function was previously defined . Members have been implicated in the stress response of plants and yeast and resistance to singlet oxygen toxicity in the plant pathogen Cercospora . However, it is found in some anaerobic bacteria and is absent in some aerobic bacteria . We have cloned the Aspergillus nidulans homologue (pyroA) of this highly conserved gene and define this gene family as encoding an enzyme specifically required for pyridoxine biosynthesis . This realization has enabled us to define a second pathway for pyridoxine biosynthesis . Some bacteria utilize the pdx pyridoxine biosynthetic pathway defined in Escherichia coli and others utilize the pyroA pathway . However, Eukarya and Archaea exclusively use the pyroA pathway . We also found that pyridoxine is destroyed in the presence of singlet oxygen, helping to explain the connection to singlet oxygen sensitivity defined in Cercospora . These data bring clarity to the previously confusing data on this gene family . However, a new conundrum now exists; why have highly related bacteria evolved with different pathways for pyridoxine biosynthesis? Medicina (B Aires), 1999, 59 Suppl 1, 3 - 7 {Quinolones: historic review}; Rothlin RP; The pharmacotherapeutic development of quinolones was produced in the last three decades . In 1965, the first commercial product was nalidixic acid (first-generation quinolone) an then, chemists have been able to synthesize several thousands of quinolone molecules's derivatives modifying primarily at the N-1 position and at the C-6, C-7 and C-8 positions . The structural changes incorporated into these new compounds enhanced pharmacodynamic characteristics and pharmacokinetic profiles . Third-generation quinolones (levofloxacin, clinafloxacin, sparfloxacin, grepafloxacin, DU-6859a and trovafloxacin) have several advantages over first-generation quinolones (nalicixic acid, cinoxacin and oxolinic acid) and second-generation quinolones (norfloxacin, enoxacin, ciprofloxacin, pefloxacin, ofloxacin, lomefloxacin and fleroxacin) . The new fluroquinolones are well absorbed in the duodenum and jejunum . They have large volumes of distribution and their penetration into different tissues and body fluids in humans has been demonstrated, reaching concentrations equal to or greater than those observed in plasma . The third-generation quinolones are broad-spectrum antimicrobials with an improved in vitro potency against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including anaerobes and intracellular pathogens. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1999 Aug, 65(8), 3633 - 40 Microbial reduction of Fe(III) in acidic sediments: isolation of Acidiphilium cryptum JF-5 capable of coupling the reduction of Fe(III) to the oxidation of glucose; Kusel K et al.; To evaluate the microbial populations involved in the reduction of Fe(III) in an acidic, iron-rich sediment, the anaerobic flow of supplemental carbon and reductant was evaluated in sediment microcosms at the in situ temperature of 12 degrees C . Supplemental glucose and cellobiose stimulated the formation of Fe(II); 42 and 21% of the reducing equivalents that were theoretically obtained from glucose and cellobiose, respectively, were recovered in Fe(II) . Likewise, supplemental H(2) was consumed by acidic sediments and yielded additional amounts of Fe(II) in a ratio of approximately 1:2 . In contrast, supplemental lactate did not stimulate the formation of Fe(II) . Supplemental acetate was not consumed and inhibited the formation of Fe(II) . Most-probable-number estimates demonstrated that glucose-utilizing acidophilic Fe(III)-reducing bacteria approximated to 1% of the total direct counts of 4', 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole-stained bacteria . From the highest growth-positive dilution of the most-probable-number series at pH 2 . 3 supplemented with glucose, an isolate, JF-5, that could dissimilate Fe(III) was obtained . JF-5 was an acidophilic, gram-negative, facultative anaerobe that completely oxidized the following substrates via the dissimilation of Fe(III): glucose, fructose, xylose, ethanol, glycerol, malate, glutamate, fumarate, citrate, succinate, and H(2) . Growth and the reduction of Fe(III) did not occur in the presence of acetate . Cells of JF-5 grown under Fe(III)-reducing conditions formed blebs, i.e., protrusions that were still in contact with the cytoplasmic membrane . Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of JF-5 demonstrated that it was closely related to an Australian isolate of Acidiphilium cryptum (99.6% sequence similarity), an organism not previously shown to couple the complete oxidation of sugars to the reduction of Fe(III) . These collective results indicate that the in situ reduction of Fe(III) in acidic sediments can be mediated by heterotrophic Acidiphilium species that are capable of coupling the reduction of Fe(III) to the complete oxidation of a large variety of substrates including glucose and H(2). Appl Environ Microbiol, 1999 Aug, 65(8), 3328 - 34 Sulfidogenesis from 2-aminoethanesulfonate (taurine) fermentation by a morphologically unusual sulfate-reducing bacterium, Desulforhopalus singaporensis sp . nov; Lie TJ et al.; A pure culture of an obligately anaerobic marine bacterium was obtained from an anaerobic enrichment culture in which taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonate) was the sole source of carbon, energy, and nitrogen . Taurine fermentation resulted in acetate, ammonia, and sulfide as end products . Other sulfonates, including 2-hydroxyethanesulfonate (isethionate) and cysteate (alanine-3-sulfonate), were not fermented . When malate was the sole source of carbon and energy, the bacterium reduced sulfate, sulfite, thiosulfate, or nitrate (reduced to ammonia) but did not use fumarate or dimethyl sulfoxide as a terminal electron acceptor for growth . Taurine-grown cells had significantly lower adenylylphosphosulfate reductase activities than sulfate-grown cells had, which was consistent with the notion that sulfate was not released as a result of oxidative C-S bond cleavage and then assimilated . The name Desulforhopalus singaporensis is proposed for this sulfate-reducing bacterium, which is morphologically unusual compared to the previously described sulfate-reducing bacteria by virtue of the spinae present on the rod-shaped, gram-negative, nonmotile cells; endospore formation was not discerned, nor was desulfoviridin detected . Granules of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate were abundant in taurine-grown cells . This organism shares with the other member of the genus Desulforhopalus which has been described a unique 13-base deletion in the 16S ribosomal DNA . It differs in several ways from a recently described endospore-forming anaerobe (K . Denger, H . Laue, and A . M . Cook, Arch . Microbiol . 168:297-301, 1997) that reportedly produces thiosulfate but not sulfide from taurine fermentation . D . singaporensis thus appears to be the first example of an organism which exhibits sulfidogenesis during taurine fermentation . Implications for sulfonate sulfur in the sulfur cycle are discussed. Int J Syst Bacteriol, 1999 Jul, 49 Pt 3, 1009 - 13 Succinispira mobilis gen . nov., sp . nov., a succinate-decarboxylating anaerobic bacterium; Janssen PH et al.; A succinate-decarboxylating anaerobic bacterium, designated strain 19gly1T, was previously isolated from a mixed culture growing with glycolate . The almost complete sequence of the 16S rRNA gene (1495 nt) was determined for this strain . On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence homology, strain 19gly1T was identified as a member of the Sporomusa sub-branch of the 'low G+C' Gram-positive bacteria . Phylogenetic analysis showed that strain 19gly1T was most closely related to Succiniclasticum ruminis, Phascolarctoba