A new plate medium for rapid presumptive identification and differentiation of Enterobacteriaceae

Phenotypic and Phylogenetic Identification of Coliform Bacteria Obtained Using 12 Coliform Methods Approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The current definition of coliform bacteria is method dependent, and when different culture-based methods are used, discrepancies in results can occur and affect the accuracy of identification of true coliforms. This study used an alternative approach to the identification of true coliforms by combining the phenotypic traits of the coliform isolates and the phylogenetic affiliation of 16S rRNA gene sequences with the use of lacZ and uidA genes. A collection of 1,404 isolates detected by 12 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved coliform-testing methods were characterized based on their phylogenetic affiliations and responses to their original isolation media and lauryl tryptose broth, m-Endo, and MI agar media. Isolates were phylogenetically classified into 32 true-coliform, or targeted Enterobacteriaceae (TE), groups and 14 noncoliform, or nontargeted Enterobacteriaceae (NTE), groups. It was shown statistically that detecting true-positive (TP) events is more challenging than detecting true-negative (TN) events. Furthermore, most false-negative (FN) events were associated with four TE groups (i.e., Serratia group I and the Providencia, Proteus, and Morganella groups) and most false-positive (FP) events with two NTE groups, the Aeromonas and Plesiomonas groups. In Escherichia coli testing, 18 out of 145 E. coli isolates identified by enzymatic methods were validated as FN. The reasons behind the FP and FN reactions could be explained through analysis of the lacZ and uidA genes. Overall, combining the analyses of the 16S rRNA, lacZ, and uidA genes with the growth responses of TE and NTE on culture-based media is an effective way to evaluate the performance of coliform detection methods.

A simple and robust preparation of N-acetylindoxyls: precursors for indigogenic substrates

A generalised, simple and efficient synthesis ofN-acetyl-5-bromo-4-chloroindoxyl and related analogues required for the synthesis of indigogenic substrates to probe for biological activities is reported.

Indigogenic substrates for detection and localization of enzymes

Indoxyl esters and glycosides are useful chromogenic substrates for detecting enzyme activities in histochemistry, biochemistry and bacteriology. The chemical reactions exploited in the laboratory are similar to those that generate indigoid dyes from indoxyl-beta-d-glucoside and isatans (in certain plants), indoxyl sulfate (in urine), and 6-bromo-2-S-methylindoxyl sulfate (in certain molluscs). Pairs of indoxyl molecules released from these precursors react rapidly with oxygen to yield insoluble blue indigo (or purple 6,6'-dibromoindigo) and smaller amounts of other indigoid dyes. Our understanding of indigogenic substrates was developed from studies of the hydrolysis of variously substituted indoxyl acetates for use in enzyme histochemistry. The smallest dye particles, with least diffusion from the sites of hydrolysis, are obtained from 5-bromo-, 5-bromo-6-chloro- and 5-bromo-4-chloroindoxyl acetates, especially the last of these three. Oxidation of the diffusible indoxyls to insoluble indigoid dyes must occur rapidly. This is achieved with atmospheric oxygen and an equimolar mixture of K(3)Fe(CN)(6) and K(4)Fe(CN)(6), which has a catalytic function. H(2)O(2) is a by-product of the oxidation of indoxyl by oxygen. In the absence of a catalyst, the indoxyl diffuses and is oxidized by H(2)O(2) (catalyzed by peroxidase-like proteins) in sites different from those of the esterase activity. The concentration of K(3)Fe(CN)(6)/K(4)Fe(CN)(6) in a histochemical medium should be as low as possible because this mixture inhibits some enzymes and also promotes parallel formation from the indoxyl of soluble yellow oxidation products. The identities and positions of halogen substituents in the indoxyl moiety of a substrate determine the color and the physical properties of the resulting indigoid dye. The principles of indigogenic histochemistry learned from the study of esterases are applicable to methods for localization of other enzymes, because all indoxyl substrates release the same type of chromogenic product. Substrates are commercially available for a wide range of carboxylic esterases, phosphatases, phosphodiesterases, aryl sulfatase and several glycosidases. Indigogenic methods for carboxylic esterases have low substrate specificity and are used in conjunction with specific inhibitors of different enzymes of the group. Indigogenic methods for acid and alkaline phosphatases, phosphodiesterases and aryl sulfatase generally have been unsatisfactory; other histochemical techniques are preferred for these enzymes. Indigogenic methods are widely used, however, for glycosidases. The technique for beta-galactosidase activity, using 5-bromo-4-chloroindoxyl-beta-galactoside (X-gal) is applied to microbial cultures, cell cultures and tissues that contain the reporter gene lac-z derived from E. coli. This bacterial enzyme has a higher pH optimum than the lysosomal beta-galactosidase of animal cells. In plants, the preferred reporter gene is gus, which encodes beta-glucuronidase activity and is also demonstrable by indigogenic histochemistry. Indoxyl substrates also are used to localize enzyme activities in non-indigogenic techniques. In indoxyl-azo methods, the released indoxyl couples with a diazonium salt to form an azo dye. In indoxyl-tetrazolium methods, the oxidizing agent is a tetrazolium salt, which is reduced by the indoxyl to an insoluble coloured formazan. Indoxyl-tetrazolium methods operate only at high pH; the method for alkaline phosphatase is used extensively to detect this enzyme as a label in immunohistochemistry and in Western blots. The insolubility of indigoid dyes in water limits the use of indigogenic substrates in biochemical assays for enzymes, but the intermediate indoxyl and leucoindigo compounds are strongly fluorescent, and this property is exploited in a variety of sensitive assays for hydrolases. The most commonly used substrates for this purpose are glycosides and carboxylic and phosphate esters of N-methylindoxyl. Indigogenic enzyme substrates are among many chromogenic reagents used to facilitate the identification of cultured bacteria. An indoxyl substrate must be transported into the organisms by a permease to detect intracellular enzymes, as in the blue/white test for recognizing E. coli colonies that do or do not express the lac-z gene. Secreted enzymes are detected by substrate-impregnated disks or strips applied to the surfaces of cultures. Such devices often include several reagents, including indigogenic substrates for esterases, glycosidases and DNAse.

Evaluation of p-naphtholbenzein-beta-D-galactoside as a substrate for bacterial beta-galactosidase

We describe the synthesis of a new substrate for the detection of beta-galactosidase and evaluate its performance in comparison with 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (X-Gal) and cyclohexenoesculetinbeta-D-galactoside (CHE-Gal). Of 206 Enterobacteriaceae strains able to hydrolyze X-Gal, 194 (94.2%) hydrolyzed CHE-Gal and 192 (93.2%) hydrolyzed p-naphtholbenzein-beta-D-galactoside (PNB-Gal). We conclude that PNB-Gal is an effective substrate for the detection of beta-galactosidase.

Rapid detection of fluorescent and chemiluminescent total coliforms and Escherichia coli on membrane filters

The detection of fluorescent colonies of Escherichia coli/total coliforms (TC) on a membrane filter is currently carried out using 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glycosides as enzyme substrates and a UV-lamp for visualization. The most rapid procedures based on this approach for the demonstration of these indicator bacteria in water take 6-7.5 h to complete. As part of efforts to further reduce the detection time, an improved two-step procedure for the fluorescence or chemiluminescence labelling of microcolonies of E. coli/TC on a membrane filter has been developed. Essential features of this approach include a separation of the bacterial propagation and target enzyme induction from the actual enzymatic labelling, the use of improved fluorogenic, i.e., 4-trifluoromethylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glycosides and fluorescein-di-beta-D-glycosides, or chemiluminogenic (i.e., phenylglucuronic- or galactose-substituted adamantyl 1,2-dioxetanes) substrates for beta-glucuronidase/beta-galactosidase, of enzyme inducers, of special membrane filters and of polymyxin B to promote the cellular uptake of the substrate. This labelling procedure has been applied in conjunction with different detection devices including a UV-lamp, CCD-cameras, X-ray film and the ChemScan((R)) RDI. Using the former three, microcolonies of pure cultures could be detected within 5.5-6.5 h, but waterborne E. coli/TC may fail to form microcolonies in this short time period, thus yielding poor sensitivity and a high false-negative rate. In contrast, a quantitative enumeration was feasible in less than 4 h with the ChemScan((R)) RDI, owing to its ability to detect both microcolonies and non-dividing single cells.

Avaliação de ensaios analíticos para detecção de coliformes fecais em queijo Minas

Foram submetidas à pesquisa de coliformes fecais, utilizando-se a técnica do número mais provável (NMP/g), 168 amostras de variedades de queijo Minas (20 frescal, 48 canastra e 100 padronizado) coletadas em Belo Horizonte. Para a comparação de diferentes ensaios em temperatura elevada, utilizou-se o caldo EC isoladamente, e caldos EC e triptofano em paralelo. Visando à pesquisa de indol foi realizado ensaio para confirmação de produção de beta-D-glucuronidase e indol em caldo fluorocult lauril sulfato. Os resultados demonstraram não haver diferença estatística significativa entre as três metodologias utilizadas para a pesquisa de coliformes fecais, considerando os índices de aceitação definidos pelos padrões legais de inspeção de queijo Minas. A facilidade de execução do ensaio da beta-D-glucuronidase em caldo fluorocult lauril sulfato, associada à confiabilidade dos resultados e demanda de tempo (redução de 96 para até 48h), permitem sugeri-lo como método de escolha para enumeração de coliformes em queijo Minas.

Fluorogenic and chromogenic enzyme substrates in culture media and identification tests

Rapid detection and identification of microorganisms is extremely important in many fields of applied and research microbiology. In general, fluorogenic and chromogenic substrates have proved to be a powerful tool, utilizing specific enzymatic activities of certain microorganisms, either in parallel with or instead of traditional methods. By incorporation of synthetic fluorogenic or chromogenic substrates into primary selective media, enumeration and detection can be performed directly on the isolation plate. The introduction of many of these media and identification tests has led to improved accuracy and faster detection of target organisms, often reducing the need for isolation of pure cultures and confirmatory tests.

Rapid characterization of periodontal bacterial isolates by using fluorogenic substrate tests

Eighty-nine species of subgingival bacteria, represented by 121 reference strains and 892 patient isolates, including gram-negative, gram-positive, aerobic, facultatively anaerobic, microaerophilic, and anaerobic species, were characterized with a panel of fluorogenic, 4-methylumbelliferyl-linked substrate tests. Identifications of all patient isolates were confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of whole-cell proteins relative to reference strains. Characteristic profiles of positive fluorogenic reactions differentiated most of the species, including five Porphyromonas species, six pigmenting and five nonpigmenting Prevotella species, Bacteroides forsythus, three Capnocytophaga species, six Actinomyces species, four Propionibacterium species, and eight Streptococcus species. Two mannoside isomers differentiated Actinomyces israelii and Actinomyces gerencseriae. In addition to Porphyromonas gingivalis, B. forsythus, and Capnocytophaga species, Fusobacterium alocis, Actinomyces odontolyticus, Actinomyces meyeri, and Bifidobacterium dentium were all positive for so-called trypsin-like activity. Fusobacterium nucleatum, Eikenella corrodens, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, and Campylobacter species were nonreactive with the carbohydrate-based substrates tested. Fluorogenic substrate tests provided a sensitive and simple method for biochemical characterization that could presumptively identify to species level most subgingival isolates within 4 h. The method was ideal for rapidly obtaining presumptive identifications of isolates prior to confirming identifications by definitive methods, such as SDS-PAGE.

Evaluation of CPS ID2 medium for detection of urinary tract bacterial isolates in specimens from a rehabilitation center

CPS ID2 medium (bioMérieux) enables the presumptive identification of Escherichia coli and enterococci as well as the detection of indologenous or nonindologenous Proteeae and bacteria belonging to the Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Serratia group with a specificity ranging from 98 to 100%. When the cultures were polymicrobial, the sensitivity varied from 70 to 97%, and the sensitivity varied from 97 to 100% when they were monomicrobial.