Isolation of Abiotrophia spp. with Staphylococcus aureus in a case of mastitis in a cow.
Isolation of Streptococcus suis from a young wild boar C treptococcus suis is an important pathogen of pigs, which has also been recognized as a zoonotic agent (1). Streptococcus suis has been associated with sporadic infections in a variety of mammalian species, such as, cattle, bison, horses, sheep, goats, dogs, and cats (2). It has recently been isolated from psittacine birds, zebrafinches, canaries, bullfinches, and a duck (2). A 20-day-old, wild boar from a 30-sow herd was submitted to the Faculte de medecine vet6rinaire of the Universit6 de Montr6al with signs of pneumonia and diarrhea. The animal was alert and did not show any neurological signs. The boar was euthanized; at necropsy, the cranial lobes of the lung, particularly on the the right side, were firm textured. The caudal lobes of the lung were not affected. There was no evidence of arthritis. Microscopic examination of the lung revealed suppurative bronchopneumonia with hemorrhagic foci and fibrinous exudation. A moderate number of coccidia were seen in sections of the small intestine. Bacteriological cultures of lungs yielded Streptococcus suis capsular type 2 colonies in large numbers, as well as a comparable number of colonies of Escherichia coli. The E. coli isolated from the intestines did not possess any of the enteropathogenicity virulence factors, and tests for rotavirus and coronavirus were negative. A total of 3 litters in this herd showed signs of infection with Streptococcus suis. Marked clinical improvement was noted after pigs from these litters were injected with 300,000 units of procaine penicillin G. The origin of the infection was not determined, but there is speculation that it spread from a swine herd on the same farm.
Transfer of Streptococcus adjacens and Streptococcus defectivus to Abiotrophia gen. nov. as Abiotrophia adiacens comb. nov. and Abiotrophia defectiva comb. nov., respectively.
We performed this study to determine the 16S rRNA sequences of the type strains of Streptococcus adjacens and Streptococcus defectivus and to calculate the phylogenetic distances between these two nutritionally variant streptococci (NVS) and other members of the genus Streptococcus. S. adjacens and S. defectivus belonged to one cluster, but this cluster was not closely related to other streptococcal species. A comparative analysis of the sequences of these organisms and other low-G+C-content gram-positive bacteria revealed that the two NVS species formed a distinct cluster and were only remotely related to the Aerococcus and Carnobacterium clusters. The highest level of homology (93.7%) was found between S. adjacens and Carnobacterium divergens. Carnobacterium species have meso-diaminopimelic acid in their cell walls, but S. adjacens and S. defectivus have L-lysine as the diamino acid at position 3 in their peptidoglycan tetrapeptides. On the basis of our findings and the results of previous phenotypic studies, we propose that the NVS species should be placed in a new genus, the genus Abiotrophia, as Abiotrophia adiacens comb. nov. and Abiotrophia defectiva comb. nov.
XV. Notes on the Geological Survey Memoir—“The Geology of the Glasgow District.”
Introductory. During the late summer the Geological Survey issued a map of the Glasgow district which will prove a boon not only to the members of this Society, but also to the increasing number of those who, although not members, still take an interest in geology as a branch of liberal education. The present map differs from its predecessors in that it is colour-printed, and the printing and general details are brought out more clearly than was possible in the hand-coloured maps. This fact has been taken advantage of to add an enormous amount of detail, which is often of such a minute character that after study one feels inclined to wish that he were gifted with microscopic eyes or that the map had been drawn to a larger scale. Not the least of its benefits is the low price at which it is sold (2s. on paper, and 3s. on cloth), the price of the previous maps having lately become prohibitive (19s. 3d. on paper). It will be observed that the long way of the map is from north to south. This has doubtless been adopted for good and sufficient reasons, if we only knew them; but I, at least, would have preferred that the long way should have been east and west, with Glasgow in the centre. The map is accompanied by an extensive memoir of the geology of the district, and the more one reads of it the more one is impressed with the This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract