RESEARCH ARTICLE


Fastidious Gram-Negatives: Identification by the Vitek 2 Neisseria-Haemophilus Card and by Partial 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing Analysis



Ute Wolff Sönksen1, 2, Jens Jørgen Christensen2, *, Lisbeth Nielsen1, Annemarie Hesselbjerg2, Dennis Schrøder Hansen1, Brita Bruun1
1 Department of Clinical Microbiology, Hillerød Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark
2 Department of Microbiological Surveillance and Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark


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Creative Commons License
© Sönksen et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Slagelse Hospital, Ingemannsvej 18, 4200 Slagelse, Denmark; Tel: +45 58559421; Fax: +45 58559410; E-mail: jejc@regionsjaelland.dk


Abstract

Taxonomy and identification of fastidious Gram negatives are evolving and challenging. We compared identifications achieved with the Vitek 2 Neisseria-Haemophilus (NH) card and partial 16S rRNA gene sequence (526 bp stretch) analysis with identifications obtained with extensive phenotypic characterization using 100 fastidious Gram negative bacteria. Seventy-five strains represented 21 of the 26 taxa included in the Vitek 2 NH database and 25 strains represented related species not included in the database. Of the 100 strains, 31 were the type strains of the species. Vitek 2 NH identification results: 48 of 75 database strains were correctly identified, 11 strains gave `low discrimination´, seven strains were unidentified, and nine strains were misidentified. Identification of 25 non-database strains resulted in 14 strains incorrectly identified as belonging to species in the database. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis results: For 76 strains phenotypic and sequencing identifications were identical, for 23 strains the sequencing identifications were either probable or possible, and for one strain only the genus was confirmed. Thus, the Vitek 2 NH system identifies most of the commonly occurring species included in the database. Some strains of rarely occurring species and strains of non-database species closely related to database species cause problems. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis performs well, but does not always suffice, additional phenotypical characterization being useful for final identification.

Keywords: Evaluation, fastidious Gram negatives, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Vitek 2 NH.