In: Nursing
A man went to the hospital, he presented localized cutaneous lesions and olecranon bursitis in his right arm. He had no fever. A sample was taken from his lesions and using a swab, was plated in blood agar. After 24 hours of incubation white colonies formed. A light microscopy analysis of a sample taken from one of the lesions, showed a nucleated single celled organisms. Further analysis showed that this organism had a cell wall made of cellulose. What type of organism is responsible for this infection? give the genus name.
Propionibacterium acnes
Propionibacterium is a gram-positive, anaerobic, rod-shaped genus of bacteria named for their unique metabolism: They are able to synthesize propionic acid by using
unusual transcarboxylase enzymes
Its members are primarily facultative parasites and commensals of humans and other animals, living in and around the sweat glands, sebaceous glands, and other areas of the skin. They are virtually ubiquitous and do not cause problems for most people, but propionibacteria have been implicated in acne and other skin conditions.] One study found the Propionibacterium was the most prevalent human skin-associated genus of microorganisms.
Members of the genus Propionibacterium are widely used in the production of vitamin B12, tetrapyrrole compounds, and propionic acid, as well as in the probiotics and cheese industries
The strain Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii is used in cheesemaking to create CO2 bubbles that become "eyes"—round holes in the cheese