In this study, a novel, simple and rapid hemagglutination assay by using a peanut lectin to detect a neuraminidase activity in strains of the Bacteroides fragilis group was developed. One hundred and fourteen species of the B. fragilis group isolated from children with and without diarrhea and 15 reference strains were evaluated. Neuraminidase production was determined by using the method above...

A ferredoxin:NAD(+) oxidoreductase was recently discovered as a redox-driven ion pump in the anaerobic, acetogenic bacterium Acetobacterium woodii. The enzyme is assumed to be encoded by the rnf genes. Since these genes are present in the genomes of many bacteria, we tested for ferredoxin:NAD(+) oxidoreductase activity in cytoplasmic membranes from several different Gram-positive and Gram-negat...

We evaluated the efficacy of a new quinolone, DU-6859a, using a new model of rat uterine endometritis. Rats were infected with mixed inocula of Escherichia coli and Bacteroides fragilis. The MICs of DU-6859a and levofloxacin against E. coli were 0.025 and 0.05 mg/L, respectively; those against B. fragilis were 0.20 and 0.39 mg/L, respectively. Immediately after inoculating 10(5) cfu/rat of each...

A cloned xylanase gene from the ruminal bacterium Bacteroides ruminicola 23 was transferred by conjugation into the colonic species Bacteroides fragilis and Bacteroides uniformis by using the Escherichia coli-Bacteroides shuttle vector pVAL-1. The cloned gene was expressed in both species, and xylanase specific activity in crude extracts was found to be at least 1400-fold greater than that foun...

Strains of Bacteroides fragilis associated with diarrheal disease (enterotoxigenic B. fragilis) produce a 20-kDa zinc-dependent metalloprotease toxin (B. fragilis enterotoxin; BFT) that reversibly stimulates chloride secretion and alters tight junctional function in polarized intestinal epithelial cells. BFT alters cellular morphology and physiology most potently and rapidly when placed on the ...

Cephalosporinase activity was demonstrated in all of 10 strains of Bacteroides fragilis investigated. Low rates of hydrolysis of cephalosporins (0.25 to 3.5 mumol of cephaloridine per h per 10(9) cells) were found, but no activity against penicillin substrates was detected. In two strains the cephalosporinase activity was increased 40-and 80-fold by growing cells in the presence of penicillin. ...

Neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are defined by core behavioral impairments; however, subsets of individuals display a spectrum of gastrointestinal (GI) abnormalities. We demonstrate GI barrier defects and microbiota alterations in the maternal immune activation (MIA) mouse model that is known to display features of ASD. Oral treatment of MIA offspring wit...

Background: While CRISPR-Cas systems have been identified in bacteria from a wide variety of ecological niches, there are no studies to describe CRISPR-Cas elements in Bacteroides species, the most prevalent anaerobic bacteria in the lower intestinal tract. Microbes of the genus Bacteroides make up ~25% of the total gut microbiome. Bacteroides fragilis comprises only 2% of the total Bacteroides...

We evaluated in vitro activity of ceftolozane-tazobactam (TOL-TAZ), formerly CXA-201, against recent clinical anaerobic isolates with emphasis on the Bacteroides fragilis group. Ceftolozane-tazobactam showed good activity against B. fragilis species and intermediate to limited activity against other species of Bacteroides. Ceftolozane-tazobactam showed very good activity against Prevotella spp....

The in vitro activity of ciprofloxacin against 30 Bacteroides fragilis group, 30 Clostridium, and 30 Peptococcaceae strains was determined by the agar dilution method in two different culture media at three pH and in three inoculum densities. In Wilkins-Chalgren agar the MICs for 90% of the strains were 0.12 micrograms/ml for B. fragilis, 0.5 micrograms/ml for Clostridium spp., and 2 micrograms...