Granulicatella elegans
| 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 | |
Granulicatella elegans is a species of bacteria known to reside in humans, occasionally acting as an opportunistic pathogen.
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]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Roggenkamp, A.; Abele-Horn, M.; Trebesius, K. H.; Tretter, U.; Autenrieth, I. B.; Heesemann, J. (1998). "Abiotrophia elegans sp. nov., a possible pathogen in patients with culture-negative endocarditis". Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 36 (1): 100–104. doi:10.1128/JCM.36.1.100-104.1998. ISSN 0095-1137. PMC 124816. PMID 9431929.
- ↑ Collins, M D; Lawson, P A (2000). "The genus Abiotrophia (Kawamura et al.) is not monophyletic: proposal of Granulicatella gen. nov., Granulicatella adiacens comb. nov., Granulicatella elegans comb. nov. and Granulicatella balaenopterae comb. nov". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 50 (1): 365–369. doi:10.1099/00207713-50-1-365. ISSN 1466-5034.
- ↑ Aas, Jørn A.; Paster, Bruce J.; Stokes, Lauren N.; Olsen, Ingar; Dewhirst, Floyd E. (2005). "Defining the normal bacterial flora of the oral cavity". Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 43 (11): 5721–5732. doi:10.1128/JCM.43.11.5721-5732.2005. ISSN 0095-1137. PMC 1287824. PMID 16272510.
- ↑ "Abiotrophia elegans Strains Comprise 8% of the Nutritionally Variant Streptococci Isolated from the Human Mouth". ASM Journals. doi:10.1128/jcm.37.8.2553-2556.1999. PMC 85281. PMID 10405400. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ↑ Yamamoto, Ted; Zhou, Xia; Williams, Chris J.; Hochwalt, Anne; Forney, Larry J. (2009-02-01). "Bacterial Populations in the Vaginas of Healthy Adolescent Women". Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. 22 (1): 11–18. doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2008.01.073. ISSN 1083-3188.
- 1 2 "Infective Endocarditis Caused by Granulicatella elegans Originating in the Oral Cavity". ASM Journals. doi:10.1128/jcm.43.3.1405-1407.2005. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ↑ Alberti, Michael O.; Hindler, Janet A.; Humphries, Romney M. (2016-02-26). "Antimicrobial Susceptibilities of Abiotrophia defectiva, Granulicatella adiacens, and Granulicatella elegans". Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 60 (3): 1411–1420. doi:10.1128/aac.02645-15. PMC 4776019.