Mycolicibacter terrae

Mycolicibacter terrae
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria
Kingdom:	Bacillati
Phylum:	Actinomycetota
Class:	Actinomycetes
Order:	Mycobacteriales
Family:	Mycobacteriaceae
Genus:	Mycolicibacter
Species:	M. terrae
Binomial name
Mycolicibacter terrae (Wayne 1966) Gupta et al. 2018 [1] [2] [3]
Type strain [4]
ATCC 15755 CCUG 27847 CIP 104321 DSM 43227 JCM 12143 LMG 10394
Synonyms [3]
Mycobacterium terraeWayne 1966 (Approved Lists 1980)

Mycolicibacter terrae (formerly Mycobacterium terrae) is a slow-growing species of mycobacteria. ^{[1] [5]} It is an ungrouped member of the third Runyon (nonchromatogenic mycobacteria). It is known to cause serious skin infections, which are "relatively resistant to antibiotic therapy". ^[6]

Discovery

Richmond and Cummings were the first to isolate Mycobacterium terrae, which they described as "an acid‐fast saprophyte". ^[7] It is sometimes called the "radish bacillus", because it was isolated from radish water.

Pathology

This bacterium was originally injected into guinea pigs, and did not cause apparent illness, leading to the misconception that this strain was nonpathogenic. In reality, however, infection by this organism can cause disease of the joints, tendons, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and genitourinary tract. ^[6] In humans, symptoms of infection include swelling, lesions, and inflammation, and may mimic the symptoms of osteoarthritis. ^[6]

Uses

This bacterium is used to study the effectiveness of disinfection processes for reusable medical instruments.

Mycobacterium terrae is used during validations of reprocessing procedures of surgical instruments, more specifically as a test organism in determining disinfection efficiency. In order to establish a microbial count the extraction media is filtered and the filters are then placed onto agar plates for an incubation of up to 21 days at 37°± 2 °C. At the end of the incubation period the number of colony forming units is counted. This count is used to calculate the log reduction to determine disinfection efficiency. The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Technical Information Report TIR30 lists acceptance criteria for this test.

References

1. Wayne LG. (1966). "Classification and identification of mycobacteria. 3. Species within group 3". Am Rev Respir Dis. 93 (6): 919–928. doi:10.1164/arrd.1966.93.6.919 (inactive 12 July 2025). PMID   5942239.
2. Skerman VB, McGowan V, Sneath PH (1980). "Approved lists of bacterial names". Int J Syst Bacteriol. 30: 225–420. doi: 10.1099/00207713-30-1-225 .
3. Gupta, Radhey S.; Lo, Brian; Son, Jeen (2018-02-13). "Phylogenomics and Comparative Genomic Studies Robustly Support Division of the Genus Mycobacterium into an Emended Genus Mycobacterium and Four Novel Genera". Frontiers in Microbiology. 9: 67. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00067 . ISSN   1664-302X. PMC   5819568 . PMID   29497402.
4. Euzéby JP, Parte AC. "Mycolicibacter terrae". List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN). Retrieved June 27, 2022.
5. Bohrerova, Z.; Linden, K.G. (November 2006). "Assessment of DNA damage and repair in Mycobacterium terrae after exposure to UV irradiation". J. Appl. Microbiol. 101 (5): 995–1001. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2006.03023.x . PMID   17040222.
6. Smith, D. Scott; Lindholm-Levy, Pamela; Huitt, Gwen A.; Heifets, Leonid B.; Cook, James L. (2000). "Mycobacterium terrae: Case Reports, Literature Review, and in vitro Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing". Clinical Infectious Diseases . 30 (3). Oxford University Press: 444–53. doi: 10.1086/313693 . ISSN   1058-4838. JSTOR   4461065. PMID   10722426.
7. Richmond, L.; Cummings, MM. (1950). "An evaluation of methods of testing the virulence of acid-fast bacilli". American Review of Tuberculosis . 62 (6): 632–7. doi:10.1164/art.1950.62.6.632 (inactive 12 July 2025). ISSN   1535-4970. PMID   14799779.

External links

• Type strain of M. terrae at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase