Legionella clemsonensis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Legionella clemsonensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Pseudomonadati |
| Phylum: | Pseudomonadota |
| Class: | Gammaproteobacteria |
| Order: | Legionellales |
| Family: | Legionellaceae |
| Genus: | Legionella |
| Species: | L. clemsonensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Legionella clemsonensis Palmer et al. 2016 | |
Legionella clemsonensis was isolated in 2006, but was described in 2016 by Clemson University researchers.[1] It is a Gram-negative bacterium.
“Legionella” is named after the American Legion convention where the first outbreak occurred, killing 34 people and sickening 221 individuals in 1976.[2] It occurred in Philadelphia during the convention for the association of the U.S. veterans. The specific name clemsonensis” derives from Clemson University, where undergraduates DNA-sequenced this new strain.[3] Legionella has a correlation with another genus called Coxiella. Both cause lung infection that can eventually lead to pneumonia due to the intracellular bacteria in aerosols.[4]
Discovery
Based on physical characteristics, phylogenetic analysis, and membrane fatty-acid composition, the organism was found to represent a unique lineage within the Legionella bacteria. The specific strain for Legionella clemsonensis is D5610.[5] It was named in honor of the research group of students from the Clemson’s Creative Inquiry.[1] Legionella clemsonensis was first isolated in 2006 from the bronchial wash of a patient diagnosed with pneumonia.[5] Bronchial washing is part of a bronchoscopy procedure.[5] After being isolated and stored, strain D5610 was acquired by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),[1] which sent 68 strains of Legionella, including strain D5610, for students to analyze at Clemson.[1] When isolated, it was shown to be very similar to bacterial genus Legionella. Researchers stated "it was identified as Legionella based on sequencing, cellular fatty-acid analysis, biochemical reactions, and biofilm characterization."[5] For a physical characterization of L.a clemsonensis, it was streaked for a single colony isolation using a charcoal yeast extract agar and required cysteine for primary isolation.[5] No growth was shown, which is typical of Legionella strains. A characteristic of L. clemsonensis is that it has a single, polar flagellum.[5] Researchers also used fatty-acid methyl-ester analyses to distinguish differences between the Legionella strains.[5] Cellular fatty-acid composition was analyzed using a Sherlock microbial Identification System.[6]