The genus Acinetobacter encompasses a heterogeneous group of bacteria that are ubiquitous in the natural environment due in part to their ability to adapt genetically to novel challenges. Acinetobacter sp. strain ADP1 (also known as strain BD413) is naturally transformable and takes up DNA from any source. Donor DNA can be integrated into the chromosome by recombination provided it possesses su...

Acinetobacter species other than Acinetobacter baumannii have rarely been reported to be associated with nosocomial outbreaks of bloodstream infections. Within a period of 1 week, seven Acinetobacter-like isolates were recovered from peripheral blood and catheter specimens of five patients at a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in a tertiary hospital in Turkey. All five patients had placement...

Strain AR-46, isolated and identified as Acinetobacter haemolyticus, evolutionally distant from the known hydrocarbon-degrading Acinetobacter spp., proved to have excellent long-chain n-alkane-degrading ability. This is the first detailed report on an n-alkane-utilizing strain belonging to this species. The preferred substrate is n-hexadecane, with an optimal temperature of 37 degrees C under a...

To elucidate the biological significance of dead bacterial cells in soil to the intra- and interspecies transfer of gene fragments by natural transformation, we have exposed the kanamycin-sensitive recipient Acinetobacter sp. strain BD413(pFG4) to lysates of the kanamycin-resistant donor bacteria Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Burkholderia cepacia. Detection of gene transfer w...

Production of the OXA-23 carbapenemase is the most common reason for the increasing carbapenem resistance in Acinetobacter spp. This study was conducted to reveal the genetic basis of blaOXA-23 dissemination in Acinetobacter spp. in China. A total of 63 carbapenem-resistant OXA-23-producing Acinetobacter sp. isolates, representing different backgrounds, were selected from 28 hospitals in 18 pro...

α-galactosidase purified from Acinetobacter sp. was immobilized in four different matricesCalcium alginate, Gelatin, Agarose and k-Carrageenan. On comparative analysis, k-Carrageenan immobilized enzyme showed highest immobilization yield of 68% and storage stability for 30 days. Gelatin showed an immobilization yield of 57%. Soluble enzyme led to decrease of 84% in raffinose and 76% in stachyos...

Two morphological types of appendages, an anchor-like appendage and a peritrichate fibril-type appendage, have been observed on cells of an adhesive bacterium, Acinetobacter sp. strain Tol 5, by use of recently developed electron microscopic techniques. The anchor extends straight to the substratum without branching and tethers the cell body at its end at distances of several hundred nanometers...

The ability of Acinetobacter sp. strain BD413(pFG4 delta nptII) to take up and integrate transgenic plant DNA based on homologous recombination was studied under optimized laboratory conditions. Restoration of nptII, resulting in kanamycin-resistant transformants, was observed with plasmid DNA, plant DNA, and homogenates carrying the gene nptII. Molecular analysis showed that some transformants...

Amifloxacin (WIN 49375) activity against a well-defined group of gentamicin-resistant gram-negative bacilli was compared with the activity of 11 other antimicrobial agents. For all strains, amifloxacin and norfloxacin were the most active agents, followed by cefotaxime and moxalactam. For Acinetobacter sp. only amifloxacin had an achievable MIC for 90% of the strains. Amifloxacin joins other ne...