Endotoxin and nanobacteria in polycystic kidney disease

Culture of nanobacteria from human gallbladder bile

AIM: To introduce a method for culturing nanobacteria from human gallbladder bile.

METHODS: The bile samples were collected from 30 patients with gallbladder-stone. After pretreatment with dilution-centrifuge-filtration (DCF) and filtration method, respectively, those samples were cultured under the ro-utine cell culture condition for nanobacteria. The morp-hological features of the obtained nanobacteria were observed under light and electron microscope. Indirect immunofluorescence staining was used to identify the nanobacteria.

RESULTS: Of the 30 bile samples, the positive rate of nanobacteria was 40% when the samples were pre-treated by DCF method, and the positive rate was 57% when they were pretreated by filtration method. There was no significant difference between those two methods (χ² = 1.669, P >0.05). Brown movement of the tiny nanobacteria was observed at 2 wk. At 4 wk, nanobacteria started to attach on the bottom of the cul-ture bottles. Specific combination of the obtained nan-obacteria with 8D10 antibodies was observed. The nanobacteria were ball- or stick-like with a length of 80-350 nm under electron microscope.

CONCLUSION: The infection of nanobacteria exists in the bile of gallbladder-stone patients. Filtration is a si-mple and effective method for the preparation of the gallbladder bile.

Detection of nanobacteria-like particles in human atherosclerotic plaques

Recent and historical evidence is consistent with the view that atherosclerosis is an infectious disease or microbial toxicosis impacted by genetics and behavior. Because small bacterial-like particles, also known as nanobacteria have been detected in kidney stones, kidney and liver cyst fluids, and can form a calcium apatite coat we posited that this agent is present in calcified human atherosclerotic plaques. Carotid and aortic atherosclerotic plaques and blood samples collected at autopsy were examined for nanobacteria-like structures by light microscopy (hematoxylin-eosin and a calcium-specific von Kossa staining), immuno-gold labeling for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for specific nanobacterial antigens, and propagation from homogenized, filtered specimens in culture medium. Nanobacterial antigens were identified in situ by immuno-TEM in 9 of 14 plaque specimens, but none of the normal carotid or aortic tissue (5 specimens). Nanobacteria-like particles were propagated from 26 of 42 sclerotic aorta and carotid samples and were confirmed by dot immunoblot, light microscopy and TEM. [3H]L-aspartic acid was incorporated into high molecular weight compounds of demineralized particles. PCR amplification of 16S rDNA sequences from the particles was unsuccessful by traditional protocols. Identification of nanobacteria-like particles at the lesion supports, but does not by itself prove the hypothesis that these agents contribute to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, especially vascular calcifications.

A potential cause for kidney stone formation during space flights: enhanced growth of nanobacteria in microgravity

BACKGROUND

Although some information is available regarding the cellular/molecular changes in immune system exposed to microgravity, little is known about the reasons of the increase in the kidney stone formation in astronauts during and/or after long duration missions at zero gravity (0 g). In our earlier studies, we have assessed a unique agent, nanobacteria (NB), in kidney stones and hypothesized that NB have an active role in calcium phosphate-carbonate deposition in kidney. In this research we studied effect of microgravity on multiplication and calcification of NB in vitro.

METHODS

We examined NB cultures in High Aspect Rotating Vessels (HARVs) designed at the NASA's Johnson Space Center, which are designed to stimulate some aspects of microgravity. Multiplication rate and calcium phosphate composition of those NB were compared with NB cultured on stationary and shaker flasks. Collected aliquots of the cultures from different incubation periods were analyzed using spectrophotometer, SEM, TEM, EDX, and x-ray diffraction techniques.

RESULTS

The results showed that NB multiplied 4.6x faster in HARVs compared to stationary cultures, and 3.2x faster than shaker flask conditions. X-ray diffraction and EDX analysis showed that the degree of apatite crystal formation and the properties of the apatite depend on the specific culture conditions used.

CONCLUSION

We now report an increased multiplication rate of NB in microgravity-simulated conditions. Thus, NB infection may have a potential role in kidney stone formation in crew members during space flights. For further proof to this hypothesis, screening of the NB antigen and antibody level in flight crew before and after flight would be necessary.

Anti-nanobacterial therapy for men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome and prostatic stones: preliminary experience

PURPOSE

Category III chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) is a common debilitating condition of unclear etiology. Patients often have prostatic calcifications but a link to symptoms is controversial. Nanobacteria are implicated in stone formation in the urinary tract and, therefore, therapy to eliminate nanobacteria and the stones that they produce might have an impact on CPPS symptoms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 16 men with recalcitrant CPPS refractory to multiple prior therapies were treated with comET (Nanobac Life Sciences, Tampa, Florida), which consists of 500 mg tetracycline, a proprietary nutraceutical and an ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid suppository daily. The National Institute of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), transrectal ultrasound, and blood and urine tests for nanobacterial antigen were performed at the start and conclusion of 3 months of therapy. One patient was lost to followup.

RESULTS

Mean NIH-CPSI total score +/- SD decreased from 25.7 +/- 1.6 to 13.7 +/- 2.0 (p <0.0001). Significant improvement was seen in each subscore domain. A total of 12 patients (80%) had at least 25% improvement on NIH-CPSI and 8 (53%) had at least 50% improvement. Nanobacterial antigen or antibody was found in 60% of serum and 40% of urine samples. In 10 patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound after therapy prostatic stones were decreased in size or resolved in 50%.

CONCLUSIONS

Therapy designed to eliminate nanobacteria resulted in significant improvement in the symptoms of recalcitrant CPPS in the majority of men, whether due to the treatment of stone producing nanobacteria or through some other mechanism. Prospective placebo controlled trials are warranted.

“Nanobacterium sanguineum” – Is it a new life-form in search of human ailment or commensal: Overview of its transmissibility and chemical means of intervention

Morphological, cultural, and immuno-histochemical characteristics of "Nanobacterium sanguineum" (NB) described in the literature are reviewed. NB is reported to be a motile, Gram negative organism that divides by binary fission within a calcium-coated slimy shell; this yeast-like shell replicates by budding. It measures between 20 and 200 nm with a unique structure containing 16S ribosomal RNA. NB has been observed by electron microscopy in coronary artery plaques (CAD) and in kidney stones (KS) found in renal diseases. On the basis of supportive literature, we suggest that NB is not only present in the human body but also has auxiliary association with human ailments without a specific etiological role; anti-NB antibody has been detected in subjects with calcified lesions and inflammation in diverse ailments including choriodecidual inflammation in pregnancy, ovarian cancers, arthritis and even Alzheimer's disease. More recent report on the detection and vertical transmission of NB antigen and anti-NB antibody in HIV-infected mothers supports the view that NB might be an important opportunistic infective agent contributing to HIV pathology; we note that the presence of viable and transmitting NB was not studied and suggest further studies to establish vertical transmission of NB in HIV-infected persons. On the basis of the foregoing we suggest that NB possibly exacerbates human ailments and raise the question: Is NB a new life-form in search of human ailment or a commensal organism? Recognizing the presence of NB in the human body, we discuss clinical trials, reported in the literature relevant to its eradication, with a rectal suppository containing very high amounts of disodium EDTA and tetracycline. We suggest that tetracycline in this formulation acted in combination with EDTA, more as a chelating agent than an antibiotic; oxytetracycline- a non-chelating form of tetracycline-does not inhibit or kill NB. Evaluation of anti-NB effect of orally administrable and potentially safer as well as therapeutically more acceptable chelating agent -ascorbic acid, acting alone or in combination with antibiotics-that eradicates another slime forming bacterium - Pseudomonas aeruginosa - in children with cystic fibrosis, is suggested.

Calcification in coronary artery disease can be reversed by EDTA-tetracycline long-term chemotherapy

Atherosclerosis is a complex process with multiple mechanisms and factors contributing to its initiation and progression. Detection and quantification of coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores with electron beam tomography has been shown to correlate with obstructive and nonobstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Pathogen-triggered calcification could play a role in CAD. Recent reports suggest that infectious blood nanobacteria (NB) emerge to be such a trigger. So far, minimal or no reversal of atherosclerosis has been claimed by therapies with iv ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA), antibiotics, or other regimens, and therapies for atherosclerosis remain non-curative. We have now combined EDTA with antibiotic tetracycline (comET), an in vitro proven nanobacteriocidal treatment, and tested comET therapy in patients with documented CAD. Three hypotheses were probed: (1) Are NB present in patients with CAD?; (2) Does treatment with comET affect blood NB antigen and serology?; (3) Does a comET decrease CAC scores? One hundred patients with stable CAD and positive CAC scores were enrolled into a 4 month study of comET therapy. ComET therapy is composed of (1) Nutraceutical Powder (Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Niacin, Folic Acid, Selenium, EDTA, l-Arginine, l-Lysine, l-Ornithine, Bromelain, Trypsin, CoQ10, Grapeseed Extract, Hawthorn Berry, Papain) 5cm(3) taken orally every evening; (2) Tetracycline HCl 500mg taken orally every evening; (3) EDTA 1500mg taken in a rectal suppository base every evening. CAC scoring was repeated at 4 months and serum samples were analyzed for NB antigen and serology at baseline, 2 and 4 months. Complete blood count, metabolic panel, liver function, C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and lipids were analyzed at baseline and 4 months. Seventy-seven patients completed the study and all patients were positive for NB serology, antigen or both. Responders (n = 44; 57%) had significant decreases in total CAC scores (P = 0.001), the average decrease being 14%. Non-responders (n = 33; 44%) had no change or had increases in CAC scores. Angina was decreased or ablated in 16 of 19 patients (84%). Lipid profiles improved to non-atherogenic direction significantly (P = 0.001), a remarkable finding in a patient group where 86% were on continuous statin medication already before the trial. No adverse physiologic effects were seen in renal, hepatic, or hematopoetic systems. In conclusion, CAC scores decreased during ComET therapy trial in most CAD patients inferring regression of calcified coronary artery plaque volume. The patients tolerated the therapy well and their angina and lipid profiles improved. Further treatment trials for long term therapy with matched controls are warranted.

Evidence of nanobacterial-like structures in calcified human arteries and cardiac valves

Mechanisms mediating vascular calcification remain incompletely understood. Nanometer scale objects hypothesized to be a type of bacteria (nanobacteria) are associated with calcified geological specimens, human kidney stones, and psammona bodies in ovarian cancer. Experiments were designed to evaluate human vascular tissue for the presence of similar nanometer-scale objects. Calcified human aneurysms (n = 8), carotid plaques (n = 2), femoral arterial plaques (n = 2), and cardiac valves (n = 2) and noncalcified aneurysms from patients with bicuspid aortic valve disease (n = 2) were collected as surgical waste from the Heart Hospital of Austin, Austin, Texas, and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Whole mounts or adjacent sections from each specimen were examined by electron microscopy, stained for calcium phosphate, or stained with a commercially available antibody (8D10). Filtered (0.2 microm) homogenates of aneurysms were cultured and costained with 8D10 antibody followed by PicoGreen to detect DNA or incubated with [3H]uridine. Staining for calcium phosphate was heterogeneously distributed within all calcified tissues. Immunological staining with 8D10 was also heterogeneously distributed in areas with and without calcium phosphate. Analysis of areas with positive immunostaining identified spheres ranging in size from 30 to 100 nm with a spectral pattern of calcium and phosphorus (high-energy dispersive spectroscopy). Nanosized particles cultured from calcified but not from noncalcified aneurysms were recognized by a DNA-specific dye and incorporated radiolabeled uridine, and, after decalcification, they appeared via electron microscopy to contain cell walls. Therefore, nanometer-scale particles similar to those described as nanobacteria isolated from geological specimens and human kidney stones can be visualized in and cultured from calcified human cardiovascular tissue.

Nanobacteria-caused mitral valve calciphylaxis in a man with diabetic renal failure

We have found that nanobacteria, recently discovered Gram-negative atypical bacteria, can cause local calciphylaxis on the mitral valve in a setting of high-calcium X phosphorous product in the blood. We present the case of a 33-year-old man with diabetic renal failure on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis who died as a result of multiple brain infarcts due to embolizations from mitral valve vegetations. Systemic calciphylaxis was not present. Spectrometric analysis of the mitral valve vegetations showed that they were composed of calcium phosphate, carbonate apatite form, and fibrin. The electron microscopy of the thrombotic vegetation demonstrated nanobacterium as a nidus for carbonate apatite formation. Investigation for the presence of nanobacteria in the multiple organs involved in systemic calciphylaxis may be of help in elucidating the pathogenesis of this frequently fatal disorder.

Morphological and immunological characteristics of nanobacteria from human renal stones of a north Indian population

The aim of this study was to detect, isolate and characterize the nanobacteria from human renal stones from a north Indian population, and to determine their role in biomineralization. Renal stones retrieved from the kidneys of 65 patients were processed and subjected to mammalian cell culture conditions. The isolated bacteria were examined using scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). They were characterized for the presence of DNA, proteins and antigenicity. The role of these bacteria in biomineralization was studied by using the (14)C-oxalate based calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystallization assay. We observed the presence of apatite forming, ultrafilterable gram negative, coccoid microorganisms in 62% of the renal stones. SEM studies revealed 60-200 nm sized organisms with a distinct cell wall and a capsule. TEM images showed needle like apatite structures both within and surrounding them. They were heat sensitive, showed antibiotic resistance and accelerated COM crystallization. A potent signal corresponding to the presence of DNA was observed in demineralized nanobacterial cells by flow cytometry. The protein profile showed the presence of several peptide bands of which those of 18 kDa and 39kDa were prominent. Apatite forming nanosized bacteria are present in human renal stones and may play a role in the pathophysiology of renal stone formation by facilitating crystallization and biomineralization. However, further studies are required to establish the exact mechanism by which nanobacteria are involved in the causation of renal stones.

Characteristics of nanobacteria and their possible role in stone formation

Kidney stone formation is a multifactorial disease in which the defence mechanisms and risk factors are imbalanced in favour of stone formation. We have proposed a novel infectious agent, mineral forming nanobacteria (NB), to be active nidi that attach to, invade and damage the urinary epithelium of collecting ducts and papilla forming the calcium phosphate center(s) found in most kidney stones. Stone formation may proceed in urine supersaturated with calcium phosphate, calcium oxalate and uric acid/urate under the influence of crystallization promoters and inhibitors. Our hypothesis underlines the role of active nidi: even supersaturated urine requires nidi for crystallization to appear.

Detection of biofilm formation and nanobacteria under long-term cell culture conditions in serum samples of cattle, goats, cats, and dogs

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of biofilm formation under long-term cell culture conditions in serum samples of dairy cattle, goats, cats, and dogs, and to determine whether there is an association between nanobacteria and biofilm formation.

SAMPLE POPULATION

Serum samples of clinically normal animals (313 dairy cattle, 48 goats, 140 dogs, and 44 cats) and animals with various medical conditions (60 dogs and 116 cats).

PROCEDURE

Serum was incubated under cell culture conditions and observed for biofilm formation by use of light microscopy, electron microscopy, and spectroscopy. A polymerase chain reaction assay was developed to identify 16S rRNA gene sequences of nanobacteria.

RESULTS

Biofilm formation developed in serum samples of 304 of 313 (97%) cattle, 44 of 48 (92%) goats, 44 of 44 (100%) cats, and 126 of 140 (90%) dogs. Prevalence of serum samples with positive results for biofilm formation was not significantly different between cats or dogs with and without medical conditions associated with pathologic extraskeletal calcification processes. Scanning electron microscopy and spectroscopy of biofilm samples revealed small coccoid particles consisting mainly of calcium and phosphate. Polymerase chain reaction assay failed to amplify sequences of nanobacteria.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Under long-term cell culture conditions, biofilm made up of aggregates of calcium and phosphate crystals does form in serum samples of clinically normal dairy cattle, goats, cats, and dogs. Disease, however, does not predispose to biofilm formation in serum samples of dogs and cats. Our findings did not support the existence of nanobacteria in serum samples of cattle, goats, cats, and dogs.

Attempted isolation of Nanobacterium sp. microorganisms from upper urinary tract stones

A single team has reported isolation of nanobacteria in human and bovine blood products, as well as, more recently, kidney stones. This has raised controversy. To confirm the data, we searched for nanobacteria from 10 aseptically removed upper urinary tract (UUT) stones. We used scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) with four stones and culture of stones on either 3T6 fibroblast monolayers or liquid RPMI medium. Detection of nanobacteria was made with a commercially available monoclonal antibody, 16S ribosomal DNA amplification with specific primers, and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) of inoculated cells. SEM showed nanoparticles in four of four UUT stones similar to those recently described. TEM of inoculated 3T6 cell monolayers has shown transient intracytoplasmic vacuolar formations containing 200- to 500-nm particles in 3 of 10 cell cultures. Gimenez staining, Hoechst staining, and specific monoclonal immunofluorescence failed to reveal nanobacteria. Finally, we could not grow Nanobacterium sp. microorganisms by the techniques described. Although with SEM, we observed nanoparticles morphologically similar to nanobacteria, we failed to isolate Nanobacterium sp. microorganisms in culture and to prove the bacterial nature of these nanoparticles in stones.

Light-induced replication of nanobacteria: a preliminary report

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of light on nanobacteria.

BACKGROUND DATA

Since their first description in literature, it is not clear whether the nanoparticles called "nanobacteria" are alive or not. The 80-1,000-nm-sized spherical particles are protected by a crystalline carbonate apatite shell and are culturable in cell culture media. Present in mammalians, including humans, nanobacteria seem to cause diseases related to biomineralization processes. Mesoscopic structures found on Martian meteorites and terrestrial rocks indicated that nanobacteria-like biological objects forming apatite, a material fairly transparent to visible light, could have been present on the primitive Earth during an era with the sun as the principal terrestrial energy source.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To evaluate possible biomedical effects of therapeutically relevant irradiation sources on nanobacteria, we irradiated nanobacteria cultures with polarized light and laser-light at low, nonthermal energy density levels.

RESULTS

Our observations indicated that nanobacteria are alive. Polarized white light was found to clearly accelerate their replication in vitro, resulting in significant dose-dependent increases in the turbidity of the cultures, compared to nonirradiated controls. Laser irradiation did not affect their replication.

CONCLUSION

The possibility that primordial and present nanobacteria could have been not only exposed to, but actively harvested, solar irradiation for their own development suggests itself. Considering that there exists no published material on the action of light on nanobacteria, the reported effects are expected to have an impact on modeling biomineralization processes, associated photoreceptor mechanisms, and astrobiological and evolutionary theories-on Earth and in space.

Inhibition of nanobacteria by antimicrobial drugs as measured by a modified microdilution method

Compounds from 16 classes of antimicrobial drugs were tested for their abilities to inhibit the in vitro multiplication of nanobacteria (NB), a newly discovered infectious agent found in human kidney stones and kidney cyst fluids from patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Because NB form surface calcifications at physiologic levels of calcium and phosphate, they have been hypothesized to mediate the formation of tissue calcifications. We describe a modified microdilution inhibitory test that accommodates the unique growth conditions and long multiplication times of NB. This modified microdilution method included inoculation of 96-well plates and determination of inhibition by periodic measurement of the absorbance for 14 days in cell culture medium under cell culture conditions. Bactericidal or bacteriostatic drug effects were distinguished by subsequent subculture in drug-free media and monitoring for increasing absorbance. NB isolated from fetal bovine serum (FBS) were inhibited by tetracycline HCl, nitrofurantoin, trimethoprim, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and ampicillin at levels achievable in serum and urine; all drugs except ampicillin were cidal. Tetracycline also inhibited multiplication of isolates of NB from human kidney stones and kidney cyst fluids from patients with PKD. The other antibiotics tested against FBS-derived NB either had no effect or exhibited an inhibitory concentration above clinically achievable levels; the aminoglycosides and vancomycin were bacteriostatic. Antibiotic-induced morphological changes to NB were observed by electron microscopy. Bisphosphonates, aminocaproic acid, potassium citrate-citric acid solutions, and 5-fluorouracil also inhibited the multiplication of NB in a cidal manner. Insights into the nature of NB, the action(s) of these drugs, and the role of NB in calcifying diseases may be gained by exploiting this in vitro inhibition test system.

Nanobacteria: controversial pathogens in nephrolithiasis and polycystic kidney disease

Nanobacteria are unconventional agents 100-fold smaller than common bacteria that can replicate apatite-forming units. Nanobacteria are powerful mediators of biogenic apatite nucleation (crystal form of calcium phosphate) and crystal growth under conditions simulating blood and urine. Apatite is found in the central nidus of most kidney stones and in mineral plaques (Randall's plaques) in renal papilla. The direct injection of nanobacteria into rat kidneys resulted in stone formation in the nanobacteria-injected kidney during one month follow-up, but not in the control kidney injected with vehicle. After intravenous administration in rats and rabbits, nanobacteria are rapidly excreted from the blood into the urine, as a major elimination route, and damage renal collecting tubuli. Nanobacteria are cytotoxic to fibroblasts in vitro. Human kidney cyst fluids contain nanobacteria. Nanobacteria thus appear to be potential provocateurs and initiators of kidney stones, tubular damage, and kidney cyst formation. It is hypothesized that nanobacteria are the initial nidi on which kidney stone is built up, at a rate dependent on the supersaturation status of the urine. Those individuals having both nanobacteria and diminished defences against stone formation (i.e. genetic factors, diet and drinking habits) could be at high risk. Kidney cyst formation is hypothesized to involve nanobacteria-induced tubular damage and defective tissue regeneration yielding cyst formation, the extent of which is dependent on genetic vulnerability.

Infection with Bartonella weissii and detection of Nanobacterium antigens in a North Carolina beef herd

Very recently, Bartonella organisms have been isolated from large ruminants (deer, elk, and dairy and beef cattle) located in the United States and in France. In this study, we report the serologic, microbiologic, and molecular findings related to the isolation of a Bartonella species in North Carolina beef cattle and the detection of nanobacterial antigen using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Between August 1998 and September 1999, blood was collected from 38 cattle ranging in age from 1 month to 6.5 years. After a 1-month incubation period, a Bartonella sp. was isolated on a 5% rabbit blood agar plate from three of six EDTA blood samples. PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA gene from all three isolates resulted in a DNA sequence that was 100% identical to that of B. weissii 16S rRNA (GenBank no. AF199502). By IFA testing, 36 of 38 cattle had antibodies (> or =1:64) to Bartonella weissii (bovine origin) antigens. Nanobacterial antigen was detected in 22 of 22 serum samples. We conclude that infection with an organism similar or closely related to B. weissii can occur in North Carolina cattle and that although their actual existence is still controversial Nanobacterium antigens were detected with a commercially available test kit. The epidemiology, vector biology, and potential pathogenicity of these organisms in cattle deserve future consideration.

An alternative interpretation of nanobacteria-induced biomineralization

The reported isolation of nanobacteria from human kidney stones raises the intriguing possibility that these microorganisms are etiological agents of pathological extraskeletal calcification [Kajander, E. O. & Ciftçioglu, N. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 8274-8279]. Nanobacteria were previously isolated from FBS after prolonged incubation in DMEM. These bacteria initiated biomineralization of the culture medium and were identified in calcified particles and biofilms by nucleic acid stains, 16S rDNA sequencing, electron microscopy, and the demonstration of a transferable biomineralization activity. We have now identified putative nanobacteria, not only from FBS, but also from human saliva and dental plaque after the incubation of 0.45-microm membrane-filtered samples in DMEM. Although biomineralization in our "cultures" was transferable to fresh DMEM, molecular examination of decalcified biofilms failed to detect nucleic acid or protein that would be expected from growth of a living entity. In addition, biomineralization was not inhibited by sodium azide. Furthermore, the 16S rDNA sequences previously ascribed to Nanobacterium sanguineum and Nanobacterium sp. were found to be indistinguishable from those of an environmental microorganism, Phyllobacterium mysinacearum, that has been previously detected as a contaminant in PCR. Thus, these data do not provide plausible support for the existence of a previously undiscovered bacterial genus. Instead, we provide evidence that biomineralization previously attributed to nanobacteria may be initiated by nonliving macromolecules and transferred on "subculture" by self-propagating microcrystalline apatite.