Streptococcus mitisfrequently causes invasive infections in neutropenic cancer patients, with a subset of patients developing viridans group streptococcal (VGS) shock syndrome. We report here the first complete genome sequence ofS. mitisstrain SVGS_061, which caused VGS shock syndrome, to help elucidate the pathogenesis of severe VGS infection.

The activity of trovafloxacin was compared with those of vancomycin and penicillin in a model of Streptococcus sanguis species group (trovafloxacin MIC, 0.125 microg/ml) and Streptococcus mitis species group (trovafloxacin MIC, 0.125 microg/ml) experimental endocarditis. Rabbits with catheter-induced aortic valve vegetations were given no treatment, trovafloxacin at 15 mg/kg of body weight thre...

We evaluated the applicability of ply PCR for confirmation of the identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae. lytA PCR, 16S rRNA sequencing, and amplified-fragment length polymorphism were used as reference methods. In contrast to the lytA gene, the ply gene proved to be not specific for S. pneumoniae. The presence of the ply gene in other streptococci, in particular Streptococcus mitis, sugges...

We demonstrate that live donor Veillonella dispar cells can transfer the conjugative transposon Tn916 to four different Streptococcus spp. recipients in a multispecies oral consortium growing as a biofilm in a constant depth film fermentor. Additionally, we demonstrate that purified V. dispar DNA can transform Streptococcus mitis to tetracycline resistance in this experimental system. These dat...

Dear Editor Streptococcus tigurinus, a novel bacterial species, was first discovered by Zbinden et al. in 2012 [1]. Although S. tigurinus was reported to cause invasive infections, accurate identification of this organism requires genetic analysis [1-6]. We report a patient with concurrent bacteremia, endocarditis, and spondylitis caused by S. tigurinus. A 79-yr-old male presented with chills a...

Two clinical isolates of viridans group streptococci (VS) with different degrees of susceptibility to optochin (OPT), i.e., fully OPT-susceptible (Opt(s)) VS strain 1162/99 (for which the MIC was equal to that for Streptococcus pneumoniae, 0.75 micro g/ml) and intermediate Opt(s) VS strain 1174/97 (MIC, 6 micro g/ml) were studied. Besides being OPT susceptible, they showed characteristics typic...

Carbon monoxide formation from heme compounds by bacteria was investigated to study microbial hemoprotein catabolism with reference to heme degradation by mammalian tissues. Hemolytic and nonhemolytic bacteria were incubated aerobically and anaerobically with the following substrates: erythrocytes, hemoglobin, myoglobin, cytochrome c, hematin, iron hematoporphyrin, copper hematoporphyrin, proto...

The prevalence and role of viridans group streptococci in the female genital tract have not been well described. In this study of 482 pregnant women, 147 (30%) were culture positive for viridans group streptococci. Of 392 women with predominant Lactobacillus morphotypes by Gram stain (normal), 110 (28%) were colonized with viridans group streptococci, compared with 37 (41%) of 90 women with bac...

The essential oil of Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary) was obtained by hydro-distillation and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Sixty-two constituents were identified, representing 98.06% of the total oil content. Oxygenated monoterpenes were the predominant components. The rosemary oil was characterized as having prominent (> 5%) contents of camphor (18.9%), verbenone (11.3%...