Mycobacterium gordonae explained

Mycobacterium gordonae is a species of Mycobacterium named for Ruth E. Gordon. It is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota (Gram-positive bacteria with high guanine and cytosine content, one of the dominant phyla of all bacteria), belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.

Description

Gram-positive, nonmotile and moderate to long acid-fast rods.

• Commonly found in tap water and soil. Casual resident in human sputum and gastric lavage specimens.

Colony characteristics

• Smooth, with yellow or orange scotochromogenic colonies. Even though they are scotochromogenic pigment is intensified by growing in continuous light.

Physiology

• Growth on Löwenstein-Jensen medium and Middlebrook 7H10 agar within 7 or more days at 37 °C (optimal 25 °C).
• Does not grow in the presence of ethambutol (1 mg/L), isoniazid (10 mg/L) and sodium chloride (5%).
• Some strains can grow using carbon monoxide as a carbon and energy source.^[1]

Differential characteristics

• A commercial hybridisation assay (AccuProbe) to identify M. gordonae exists.^[2]
• Intraspecies variability in 16S rDNA sequences

Pathogenesis

• Rarely if ever implicated in disease processes even if patients are immunocompromised. Widely distributed in environment and usually a contaminant in laboratory specimens.^[3]
• Biosafety level 2

Type strain

Strain ATCC 14470 = CCUG 21801 = CCUG 21811 = CIP 104529 = DSM 44160 = JCM 6382 = NCTC 10267.

Further reading

• Bojalil LF, Cerbon J, Trujillo A . Adansonian classification of mycobacteria . Journal of General Microbiology . 28 . 2 . 333–46 . June 1962 . 13870716 . 10.1099/00221287-28-2-333 . free .

External links

• Type strain of Mycobacterium gordonae at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase

Notes and References

1. King GM . Uptake of carbon monoxide and hydrogen at environmentally relevant concentrations by mycobacteria . Applied and Environmental Microbiology . 69 . 12 . 7266–72 . December 2003 . 14660375 . 310020 . 10.1128/aem.69.12.7266-7272.2003 .
2. Reisner BS, Gatson AM, Woods GL . Use of Gen-Probe AccuProbes to identify Mycobacterium avium complex, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Mycobacterium kansasii, and Mycobacterium gordonae directly from BACTEC TB broth cultures . Journal of Clinical Microbiology . 32 . 12 . 2995–8 . December 1994 . 10.1128/JCM.32.12.2995-2998.1994 . 7883888 . 264213 .
3. Web site: NTM: Types. Kasperbauer. Shannon. July 1, 2017. National Jewish Health.