Procedure – A proprietary formulation of ATCC 33701 Rhodococcus equi known to contain the virulence plasmid was developed and tested on 72 horses. Antibody levels to Rhodococcus equi Virulence associated protein A (VapA) were determined relative to a Standard Plasma. A clinical trial was performed on 28 foals. Seven foals were administered hyperimmune plasma and seven foals were administered pu...

A Rhodococcus sp. isolated from contaminated river sediment was investigated to determine if the isolate could degrade high molecular mass polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The Rhodococcus sp. was able to utilize anthracene (53%), phenanthrene (31%), pyrene (13%), and fluoranthene (5%) as sole source of carbon and energy, but not naphthalene or chrysene. In a study of the degradation of anthrac...

The req_39680 gene, associated to a putative efflux system, was detected in 60% (54/90) of R. equi isolates by PCR. The phenotypic expression of efflux mechanism was verified in 20% of the isolates using ethidium bromide. For the first time, the expression of efflux mechanism was demonstrated in R. equi.

Bacteriophage-encoded proteins which inhibit or modify cellular components may contribute to antibacterial drug discovery by allowing the identification of novel targets. Given their abundance and diversity, phages may have various strategies in host inhibition and therefore may possess a variety of such proteins. Using Rhodococcus equi and phage YF1, we show that a single phage possesses numer...

Background & Aims of the Study: Rhodococci according to possess large genome, their active metabolism and survival under extreme conditions, are highly regarded for biodegradation and bioremediation of different pollutants especially heavy metals in the environment. Biofilms are more resistant to heavy metals than free-swimming organisms. The aim of this study was biofilm forma...

Rhodococcus equi, a facultative intracellular pathogen of macrophages, causes severe, life-threatening pneumonia in young foals and in people with underlying immune deficiencies. R. equi virulence is dependent on the presence of a large virulence plasmid that houses a pathogenicity island (PAI) encoding a novel family of surface-localized and secreted proteins of largely unknown function termed...

Rhodococcus rhodochrous PY11 (DSM 101666) is able to use 2-hydroxypyridine as a sole source of carbon and energy. By investigating a gene cluster (hpo) from this bacterium, we were able to reconstruct the catabolic pathway of 2-hydroxypyridine degradation. Here, we report that in Rhodococcus rhodochrous PY11, the initial hydroxylation of 2-hydroxypyridine is catalyzed by a four-component dioxyg...

Understanding how bacteria affect plant health is crucial for developing sustainable crop production systems. We coupled ecological sampling and genome sequencing to characterize the population genetic history of Rhodococcus and the distribution patterns of virulence plasmids in isolates from nurseries. Analysis of chromosome sequences shows that plants host multiple lineages of Rhodococcus, an...

Four kinds of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-degrading Rhodococcus sp. (TA421, TA431, HA99, and K37) have been isolated from termite ecosystem and under alkaline condition. The bph gene cluster involved in the degradation of PCB/biphenyl has been analyzed in strain TA421. This gene cluster was highly homologous to bph gene clusters in R. globerulus P6 and Rhodococcus sp. RHA1. In this study, we...