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Anaerobe 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

University of Houston College of Pharmacy, Houston, Texas, USA.

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is an emerging but often understudied infectious disease in developing countries. This study was aimed to isolate and characterize C. difficile from shoe sole swabs and diarrheal patient's stool samples in Bangladesh. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Microhealth Group, Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry of Dairy Products, Instituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IPLA-CSIC), Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain. Electronic address:

The toll-like receptors involved in recognition of the exopolysaccharide produced by two isogenic, ropy and non-ropy, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis strains were investigated. Both strains interact with human embryonic kidney (HEK)-293 cells via TLR2, whereas purified EPSs specifically stimulate TLR4 regardless their molar mass. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Section of Microbiology, University Hospital of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Spain.

We describe the characteristics of 11 cases of skin and soft tissue infections due to Cutibacterium (formerly Propionibacterium) avidum. This microorganism should be considered a potential skin pathogen especially in patients with breast infections. The clinical outcome is usually good but serious infections such as necrotizing infections may occur. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia. Electronic address:

Recent reports on antimicrobial effects of metallic Cu prompted this study of anaerobic microbial communities on copper surfaces. Widely circulating copper-containing coinage was used as a potential source for microorganisms that had had human contact and were tolerant to copper. This study reports on the isolation, characterization, and genome of an anaerobic sulfidogenic Tissierella sp. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Marmara University, School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology, Istanbul, Turkey.

We have reported a case of mastoiditis which progressed to meningitis in a 16-year old male patient. CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) anaerobic culture revealed four species of isolated anaerobic bacteria. This is the first case in the literature in which a patient survived childhood polymicrobial anaerobic meningitis diagnosed by MALDI-TOF MS (Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization - Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry) . Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Vetuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address:

Clostridium chauvoei is the etiologic agent of blackleg in cattle, inducing fever, severe myonecrosis, oedemic lesions and ultimately death of infected animals. The pathogen often results in such rapid death that antibiotic therapy is futile and thus vaccination is the only efficient strategy in order to control the disease. The β-barrel pore forming leucocidin Clostridium chauvoei toxin A (CctA) is one of the best characterised toxins of C. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 13;56:51-56. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA. Electronic address:

Fusobacterium necrophorum is a Gram negative, rod-shaped and aero tolerant anaerobe. In animals, it is an opportunistic pathogen frequently associated with necrotic infections, generally called necrobacillosis, such as calf diphtheria, foot rot and liver abscesses in cattle. Two subspecies exist: subsp. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 12. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Division of Oral Microbiology and Immunology, Department for Operative Dentistry, Periodontology and Preventive Dentistry, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.

Next-generation sequencing allows for investigating the composition of microbiomes that are associated with infection (clinical microbiology) or dysbiosis (microbial ecology). The most commonly applied short-read sequencing technologies are Illumina MiSeq/HiSeq and Ion Torrent PGM, however, other platforms that generate long-reads are under way and optimized. A pre-condition for representative results is an appropriate method for contamination-free collection, homogenization, storage of specimens and a subsequent efficient DNA extraction protocol. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 12;56:49-50. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

National Reference Center for Anaerobic Bacteria and Botulism, Pasteur Institute, 75015, Paris, France. Electronic address:

Botulism type C was suspected in a 46-year old man after consumption of sick poultry from a flock where botulism type C was confirmed. The patient developed characteristic signs of botulism, but investigation of biological samples did not confirm the presence of Clostridium botulinum or botulinum toxin. Despite having classical botulism symptoms, the man recovered very quickly. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 10;56:46-48. Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Infectious Agents, Saint Louis - Lariboisiere - Fernand Widal University Hospital, APHP, Paris, France; IAME, UMR 1137, INSERM, Paris Diderot University, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.

Clostridium is a diverse genus including more than 200 species involved in varied clinical presentations in infectious diseases. Septic arthritis caused by Clostridium sp. are however uncommon. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 10;56:61-65. Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Magee-Womens Research Institute, 204 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA; University of Pittsburgh, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Magee-Womens Hospital, 300 Halket Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA. Electronic address:

The CDC recommended outpatient treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an intramuscular dose of ceftriaxone plus 14 days of doxycycline, with or without metronidazole. European guidelines (2017) include moxifloxacin plus ceftriaxone as a first line regimen, particularly for women with Mycoplasma genitalium-associated PID. However, the susceptibility of bacteria recovered from the endometrium of women with PID to moxifloxacin is unknown. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 7;56:57-60. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Pediatric, King Saud University Medical City, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Spinal intramedullary abscesses are rare and potentially devastating lesions. Infection is mostly caused by staphylococci. Anaerobes are rare and often polymicrobial. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 6;56:40-45. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Animal Nutrition Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research - National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, 132001, Haryana, India. Electronic address:

In the present study, we investigated the potential of Bifidobacterium spp., isolated from ruminal fluid samples from buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) for conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) production. A total of 294 isolates were obtained from 86 ruminal fluid samples using Bifidus Selective Medium (BSM) medium, and based on phospoketolase assay, 24 isolates were presumptively confirmed to be Bifidobacterium species. Read More

Anaerobe 2018 Oct;53

Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02111, USA.

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 1. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Department of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Bacteroides fragilis can be classified into division I (cfiA negative) and division II (cfiA positive) isolates. Division II isolates have a silent chromosomal carbapenemase gene (cfiA) that can become overexpressed by an insertion of a mobile genetic element and thus develop a phenotypic resistance to carbapenems. Aims of our study were (i) to determine the prevalence of B. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Jan 29;56:34-39. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, CEP 31.270-901, Brazil. Electronic address:

The molecular epidemiology of 38 non-duplicate toxigenic Clostridioides (previously Clostridium) difficile isolates from inpatients from a hospital in Brazil during a 6-year period (2012-2017) were investigated by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and ribotyping. These isolates were classified into 20 sequence types (ST), six (30%) of which were novel, revealing a high diversity in a single hospital. Classic hypervirulent strains ST1/RT027 and ST11/RT078 were not identified, while ST42 (almost all RT106) was the most common type, being detected in 11 (28. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Jan 22. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA; Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA. Electronic address:

Anaerobe 2019 Jan 8;56:22-26. Epub 2019 Jan 8.

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Strasse 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany; Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Virology, Robert-von-Ostertag-Strasse 7-13, 14163, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address:

We investigated inflow of a wastewater treatment plant and sediment of an urban lake for the presence of Clostridioides difficile by cultivation and PCR. Among seven colonies we sequenced the complete genomes of three: two non-toxigenic isolates from wastewater and one toxigenic isolate from the urban lake. For all obtained isolates, a close genomic relationship with human-derived isolates was observed. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Jan 8;56:8-16. Epub 2019 Jan 8.

Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Department Bioengineering, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, D-14469, Potsdam, Germany.

To investigate whether there is a nexus between the microbial diversity level (taxonomic, functional and ecological) and the stress tolerance potential of the microbial community, the impact of different ammonium sources was evaluated. Therefore reactors adapted either to the anaerobic digestions of sugar beet silage or maize silage (SBS/MS) were supplemented with animal manure (M) or ammonium carbonate (A). The results showed that increasing concentrations of total ammonium nitrogen (TAN) were not the only reason for community changes: the bacterial community in the reactors given animal manure became more similar over time compared to the reactors given ammonium carbonate. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Jan 7;56:27-33. Epub 2019 Jan 7.

Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address:

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are considered one of the most important diseases of sows due to its close relationship with reproductive problems such as reduced litter size, increase in the rate of return to estrous, vulvar discharge, abortion, mastitis and anestrus. Actinobaculum suis is one of the main agents involved in porcine urinary tract infection and is responsible for the most severe and fatal cases in sows. In the present report, 23 A. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Jan 7;56:17-21. Epub 2019 Jan 7.

Department of Medical Microbiology, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic. Electronic address:

Clostridium difficile has been recovered from the faeces of several animal species as well as horses. Between April 2015 and October 2016, 213 samples of faeces from non-hospitalized (n = 138) and hospitalized horses (n = 75) were investigated and eighteen C. difficile isolates were cultured using an enrichment method. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Jan 5;56:1-7. Epub 2019 Jan 5.

Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Av. Acceso Este Lateral Sur 2245, CP 5519, Mendoza, Argentina; Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Patología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Casilla de Correo 56, CP 5500, Mendoza, Argentina; Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Av. Acceso Este Lateral Sur 2245, CP 5519, Mendoza, Argentina.

The ruminal bacteria Pseudobutyrivibrio xylanivorans strain 2 (P. xylanivorans 2), that mediates the digestion of plant fiber, is considered an attractive candidate for probiotics. Adherence to the epithelium of the digestive tract of the host is one of the major requirements for probiotics. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Jan 4. Epub 2019 Jan 4.

Department of Microbiology, Belfast Health & Social Care Trust, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 18;55:142-151. Epub 2018 Dec 18.

Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.

Clostridium difficile infection is a range of toxin - mediated intestinal diseases that is often acquired in hospitals and small communities in developed countries. The main virulence factors of C. difficile are two exotoxins, toxin A and toxin B, which damage epithelial cells and manifest as colonic inflammation and mild to severe diarrhea. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 14;55:130-135. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Clinical Microbiology Department, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain.

Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens is a gram-negative anaerobic spiral rod which is part of the normal flora of dogs and cats and can produce bacteraemia and diarrhoea in humans. In this report we describe two cases of bacteraemia caused by A. succiniciproducens which was successfully identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 11;55:124-129. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Microbiology Department, Hospital Universitari Son Espases and Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Illes Balears (IdISBa), Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Electronic address:

Clostridioides difficile is the leading cause of nosocomial diarrhea and antibiotics associated diarrhea, but it is also an increasingly common cause of community diarrhea. In recent years we have observed a progressive increase in the incidence of C. difficile infection (CDI) both at the hospital and community setting that could be explained by the dynamic epidemiology of C. Read More

Anaerobe 2018 Dec 2;54:197-200. Epub 2018 Jul 2.

Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.

Despite the wide implementation of MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid and reliable identification of most microorganisms, some taxonomic groups such as the Porphyromonas genus remain largely untested. In this study we evaluated the performance of MALDI-TOF MS on this genus using a collection of 39 isolates sent for routine identification to our institution over a 16-year period. All of them were identified by DNA-sequencing analysis of the 16S rRNA gene plus the hsp60 gene when the previous one did not yield species-level assignment. Read More

Anaerobe 2018 Dec 3;54:191-196. Epub 2018 Jul 3.

Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. Electronic address:

In 2013, we adopted MALDI-TOF MS using the Bruker Biotyper system for identification of anaerobic bacteria into our routine clinical practice. Here, we describe our experience with the use of MALDI-TOF MS for anaerobic bacterial identification, highlighting its value in replacing the more costly and time-consuming 16S ribosomal RNA gene PCR plus sequencing-based approach as the primary method of anaerobic bacterial identification. We also describe our more recent experience with the use of early/rapid MALDI-TOF MS for identification of anaerobic bacteria performed on short incubation (4-6 h) plated aerobic media from anaerobic blood culture bottles positive for Gram-negative bacilli. Read More

Anaerobe 2018 Dec 25;54:189-190. Epub 2018 Oct 25.

Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, MN, USA. Electronic address:

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 7;55:136-141. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agriculture University, Jiangxi, Nanchang, China. Electronic address:

Though the problem of neonatal piglet diarrhea is well known, the differences in the bacterial diversity and community composition between healthy and diarrheal piglets are still unknown. We investigated these differences in neonatal piglets from Jiangxi Province, China. Healthy (H, n = 20) and diarrheal (D, n = 20) piglets were selected from six regions. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 3;55:112-116. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Pulmonary Department, Physician Building, 7301 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72903, United States.

Clostridium difficile is the most commonly reported pathogen to cause nosocomial infections in the United States with a high burden affecting morbidity, mortality and healthcare expenditure. The use of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) is one of the current standard therapies for recurrent C. difficile infection (CDIr). Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 27;55:117-123. Epub 2018 Nov 27.

School of Veterinary & Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia; Department of Microbiology, PathWest Laboratory Medicine, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia; School of Medical & Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia.

Three patients with severe Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) caused by an unusual strain of C. difficile, PCR ribotype (RT) 251, were identified in New South Wales, Australia. All cases presented with severe diarrhoea, two had multiple recurrences and one died following a colectomy. Read More

Anaerobe 2018 Dec 20;54:iii-iv. Epub 2018 Nov 20.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address:

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 15;55:96-102. Epub 2018 Nov 15.

Superfund Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA; Department of Animal and Food Sciences, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. Electronic address:

Exposure to environmental pollutants is associated with a greater risk for metabolic diseases including cardiovascular disease. Pollutant exposure can also alter gut microbial populations that may contribute to metabolic effects and progression of inflammatory diseases. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), produced from gut fermentation of dietary carbohydrates, such as inulin, exert numerous effects on host energy metabolism and are linked to a reduced risk of diseases. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 12;55:93-95. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Microbiology Laboratory, University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves -ibs Granada, Granada, Spain; Department of Microbiology, University of Granada-ibs Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address:

We report the first case of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) caused by Actinobaculum massiliense. A 53-year-old woman attended the emergency department with symptoms compatible with a PID episode, finally resolved by intramuscular antibiotic treatment. Actinobaculum sp. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 10;55:107-111. Epub 2018 Nov 10.

Department of Oral Microbiology, College of Dentistry, Research Institute of Oral Science, Gangneung- Wonju National University, Gangneung, 210-702, South Korea. Electronic address:

It has been reported that sub-minimal inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) of antibiotics are capable of altering bacterial surface properties and phenotype. In this study, the effects of sub-MICs of certain antibiotics on surface hydrophobicity, cell morphology, and protein profile were ascertained using Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola strains, which are pathogenic bacterial species in periodontal diseases. The MICs of antibiotics were determined by culturing bacteria in media supplemented with serially diluted antibiotic solutions, and sub-MIC of antibiotics was used. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 8;55:78-82. Epub 2018 Nov 8.

Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica; Laboratorio de Investigación en Bacteriología Anaerobia, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica. Electronic address:

Though an overlap of Clostridium difficile PCR ribotypes (RT) in humans and animals has been noted -particularly in piglets-information regarding C. difficile isolates from swine is scarce in Latin America. A characterization of 10 C. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 6;55:103-106. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

Laboratory of Anatomic Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil. Electronic address:

A large outbreak of botulism in feedlot steers fed corn silage contaminated with Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin type C (BoNT/C) is reported occurring in Midwestern Brazil in August 2017. The onset of the outbreak occurred 15 days after 1700 steers started to be fed the contaminated corn silage. Affected steers were alert and afebrile with varying degrees of flaccid paralysis in various muscle groups. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 2;55:1-7. Epub 2018 Jul 2.

State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, AMMS, Beijing 100071, China. Electronic address:

Infant botulism was rarely reported in China. The second reported event of the disease including three cases occurred in 2015. In the present study, one (the third case) of the three cases was identified and investigated to trace the sources of transmission. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 3;55:67-77. Epub 2018 Nov 3.

University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Animal Science, Groblje 3, SI-1230, Domžale, Slovenia. Electronic address:

Metabolic syndrome is a complex disease that is exponentially increasing in the western world, and diet is one of the possible ways to improve the metabolic status of patients. Barley beta glucans are dietary fibres that show promise for improvement cholesterol levels and postprandial glucose response, but they have been rarely investigated in human trials with concurrent focus on gut microbiota. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trial was conducted with 43 volunteers with high risk for metabolic syndrome development or with diagnosed metabolic syndrome. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 3;55:83-92. Epub 2018 Nov 3.

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, 06110, Diskapi, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address:

The effects of plant metabolites on rumen metabolism vary greatly depending on their antimicrobial spectrum and applied doses. In this study, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of commercial aldehydes, trans-2-hexenal (T2H), cis-3-hexenal (C3H), trans-2-nonenal (T2N), and trans-2-decenal (T2D) from green leaf volatiles, were tested on rumen bacteria. These compounds were found more effective on Gram-positive rumen bacteria than the Gram-negatives, and C3H was the most effective compound. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 2;55:35-39. Epub 2018 Nov 2.

National University Hospital, National University Health System, 119074, Singapore; Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 117597, Singapore.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is an increasingly common occurrence in the hospital setting, and it is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In vitro studies have found that rifaximin, a nonabsorbable rifamycin antibiotic, displays potent antimicrobial activity against C. difficile. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 24;55:11-23. Epub 2018 Oct 24.

Departamento de Genética y Biología Molecular, Cinvestav Unidad Zacatenco, Av IPN 2508, Ciudad de México 07360, Mexico. Electronic address:

Obesity is a metabolic disorder and global health issue. In Mexico 34.4% of children between 5 and 11 years-old are overweight or obese. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 23;55:8-10. Epub 2018 Oct 23.

Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche "Togo Rosati", via Salvemini 1, 06126, Perugia, Italy.

This study investigates the contamination of foods with Clostridium difficile in 3 hospitals of Central Italy. We used real-time PCR for tpi gene to analyse 350 food samples, including 296 cooked meals and 54 foods to be eaten raw. The molecular screening test was positive for 3 samples, but toxigenic C. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 22;55:54-60. Epub 2018 Oct 22.

Dept of Oral Biology, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden. Electronic address:

Dental biofilms are complex ecosystems containing many bacterial species that live in mutualistic relationships. These interactions can profoundly affect the virulence properties of the community. In this study we investigated how the production of gingipains, virulence factors from Porphyromonas gingivalis important in periodontal disease, was affected by other commonly found members of the sub-gingival microbiome. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 11;55:40-53. Epub 2018 Oct 11.

Hydrosciences Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Univ Montpellier, Département de Microbiologie, CHU Nîmes, France. Electronic address:

Acquired resistance to metronidazole, a 5-nitroimidazole drug largely used worldwide in the empirical treatment of infections caused by anaerobes, is worrisome, especially since such resistance has been described in multidrug-resistant anaerobic bacteria. In anaerobes, acquired resistance to metronidazole may be due to a combination of various and complex mechanisms. Among them, nim genes, possibly located on mobile genetic elements, encode nitro-imidazole-reductases responsible for drug inactivation. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 11;55:61-66. Epub 2018 Oct 11.

Public Health Ontario Laboratories, Toronto, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive spore forming rod-shaped bacterium which causes mild to severe diarrhea. Spores play a key role in transmission of C. difficile in hospital environment. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 10;55:29-34. Epub 2018 Oct 10.

HydroSciences Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Univ Montpellier, Département de Microbiologie, CHU Nîmes, Nîmes, France. Electronic address:

nim genes are associated, in combination with other factors, with acquired resistance to metronidazole (MTZ) in anaerobes. These genes encode 5-nitroimidazole reductase enzymes (Nim proteins) that reduce MTZ into an inactive compound. Eleven variants (nimA to nimK) are currently described in anaerobes with either a chromosomal or a plasmidic location. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 4;55:24-28. Epub 2018 Oct 4.

Veterinary School. Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Antônio Carlos Avenue, 6627, 31.270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.

One of the main challenges associated with Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in humans and domestic animals is the lack of an effective preventive strategy. One strategy with promising results is the oral administration of non-toxigenic strains of C. difficile (NTCD). Read More

Anaerobe 2018 Dec 5;54:169-171. Epub 2018 Oct 5.

Healthcare Associated Infections Research Group, Leeds Institute for Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.

Biofilm-derived spores of strains of four ribotypes (001, 020, 027 & 078) of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile were found to exhibit increased thermotolerance compared to spores produced in planktonic culture. In addition, 'thick' and 'thin' exosporium morphotypes described previously were visualised by electron microscopy in both biofilm and planktonic spores. Read More