Granulicatella elegans
Species of bacteria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Granulicatella elegans is a species of bacteria known to reside in humans, occasionally acting as an opportunistic pathogen.
| Granulicatella elegans | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Bacillati |
| Phylum: | Bacillota |
| Class: | Bacilli |
| Order: | Lactobacillales |
| Family: | Carnobacteriaceae |
| Genus: | Granulicatella |
| Species: | G. elegans |
| Binomial name | |
| Granulicatella elegans (Roggenkamp et al. 1999) Collins and Lawson 2000 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Abiotropha elegans | |
Discovery and taxonomy
Granulicatella elegans was first isolated from the blood of a hospital patient suffering from acute endocarditis in Munich, Germany. It was first described under the name Abiotropha elegans.[1] It was later moved to the new genus Granulicatella along with other species of Abiotropha upon the discovery that Abiotropha was polyphyletic.[2] Its species name elegans refers to its fastidious growth requirements.[1]
Description
Granulicatella elegans is gram-positive, non-motile, and facultatively anaerobic. Its shape differs based on its nutritional state, appearing as coccoid-shaped cells in short chains when grown in nutritionally sufficient media. It is both catalase-negative and oxidase-negative. Growth has been observed at 27-37°C but not at 20°C or 42°C. Very small colonies are known to grow on Schaedler-sheep blood agar. It is capable of fermenting raffinose.[1]
Pathogenicity
While Granulicatella elegans can exist as part of the normal flora of the human mouth,[3][4] as well as rarely of the flora of the vagina,[5] it has also been implicated in disease such as infective endocarditis.[1][6] Transmission of G. elegans from the oral cavity to the bloodstream is thought to be a possible cause of infection.[6]
Many G. elegans isolates have been found to be resistant to the antibiotic erythromycin.[7]