The aim of the present work was to determine by blood culture the prevalence of blood infection with Bartonella species in a well-defined, European, urban stray cat population. Therefore, 94 stray cats were trapped from 10 cat colonies. Blood samples of these cats were cultured on both blood agar and liquid medium in order to raise the likelihood of bacterial detection. Fifty blood samples (53%) gave a positive culture result for Bartonella species. Isolate identification was performed by sequencing the first 430 bases of the 16S ribosomal DNA. Three types of sequences were thus obtained. The first type (17 isolates; 34%) was identical to that of B. henselae Houston-1 and the corresponding strains were referred as B. henselae type I. The second sequence type (18 isolates; 36%) was identical to that initially described as "BA-TF," and the corresponding strains were referred to as B. henselae type II. The third sequence type (15 isolates; 30%) was identical to that of the Bartonella clarridgeiae type strain (ATCC 51734). Our study points out the major role of stray cats as a reservoir of Bartonella spp. which can be transmitted to pet cats and, consequently, to humans. The study also highlights the high prevalence of B. clarridgeiae (16%) in the blood of stray cats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Bacterial strains. B. clarridgeiae ATCC 51734 T was kindly provided by J. Clarridge III (Houston, Tex.), and Bartonella doshiae NCTC 12862 T and Bartonella vinsonii ATCC VR-152 T were kindly provided by R. Birtles (London, United Kingdom). B. henselae ATCC 49882 T was purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; Rockville, Md.). Cat population. The study was performed between May and December 1995 in the town of Nancy, which is in the eastern part of France. The cats enrolled in the study were living in 10 different cat colonies, labeled A to J (Fig. 1). These cat colonies were located in interior courtyards of urban blocks, as well as in the vicinity of collective or individual housing. One colony was located in a public

DNA relatedness experiments were performed with 38 clinical isolates and 13 reference strains of coryneform taxa exhibiting a lipid requirement for optimal growth. Forty-five of these strains split into five genomic groups at the species level, whereas six other strains remained unclustered. Genomospecies I1 fits Corynebacterium accolens, but the other genomospecies were not genetically related to any of the defined Corynebucterium species. Phylogenetic analyses of genes coding for small-subunit rRNA sequences revealed that two genomospecies (I and 111) and C. uccolens form a tight cluster within the robust branch that groups all Corynebacteriun species presently sequenced. Reference strains of biotypes C-1, C-2, and C-3 of "Corynebacterium pseudogenitulium" were found to fall into genomospecies I, as well as "Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coryneform group G-1, and CDC coryneform group 6 -2 reference strains. Biochemical tests allowed differentiation between genomospecies except between genomospecies N and V and between six unclustered strains and genomospecies I. We propose a new classification for these lipid-requiring diphtheroids within the genus Corynebucterium with the delineation of some CDC coryneform group G-1 strains (genomospecies 111) as a new species for which the name Corynebacterium mucginleyi is proposed. The type strain is strain JCL-2 (CIP 104099), isolated from a human corneal ulcer.

A new Corynebacterium species, Corynebacteriurn argentoratense was isolated from the throats of four human patients. It is characterized by the presence of chemotype IV, a cell wall, corynomycolic acids, and a G+C content ranging from 60 to 61 mol%. Strains belonging to this species exhibit high levels of DNA relatedness as determined by DNA-DNA hybridization experiments (S1 nuclease procedure) but no close DNA relatedness with related Corynebacterium species. Phylogenies based on comparative analyses of nearly complete smallsubunit rDNA sequences confirmed the inclusion of this new species within the genus Corynebacteriurn and grouped it in a cluster with C. diphtheriae, C. ulcerans, C. pseudotubercubsis, and C. kutscheri. PCR experiments revealed an absence of the gene coding for diphtheria toxin. This new species can be identified by its mycolic acid pattern, fermentation of sugars, and enzymatic activities. Strain IBS B10697 (CIP 104296) is the type strain of C. argentorateme.

No abstract

No abstract