Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nocardia beijingensis, is a Pathogenic Bacterium to Humans: The First Infectious Cases in Thailand and Japan

  • Published:
Mycopathologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Nocardia beijingensis, a recently established new species, is an isolate from soil in China. During our taxonomic studies on 450 nocardial clinical isolates in Thailand and Japan, 17 strains from Thailand and 1 strain from Japan were found to have a similar physiological characteristic to those of N. beijingensis, such as a drug susceptibility pattern to three antimicrobial agents. Our phylogenetic studies on these 18 strains by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis confirmed that these strains belong to N. beijingensis species. Phylogenetically, these newly isolated N. beijingensis strains were found to be classified into two distinct clades: one is a Japanese clade and other is a Chinese clade, including a reference strain and 17 Thai strains. This is the first report of human infection due to N. beijingensis strains, and we propose that the bacterium be categorized as an opportunistic infectious group regardless of its original isolation from soil.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. McNeil MM, Brown JM. The medically important aerobic actinomycetes: Epidemiology and microbiology. Clin Microbiol Rev 1994; 7: 357–417.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Gordon RE, Barnett DA, Handerhan JE, Pang, CHN. Nocardia coeliaca, Nocardia autotrophica, and the nocardin strain. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1974; 24: 54–63.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Goodfellow M. Nocardia and related genera. In: Balows A, Duerden BI, eds. Topley and Wilson's Microbiology and Microbial Infections, 9th edn, Vol. 2, Systematic Bacteriology, London: Arnold, 1997; 463–489.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Boiron P, Provost F, Chevrier G, Dupont B. Review of nocardial infections in France 1987 to 1990. Eur J Clin Infect Dis 1992; 11: 709–714.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Beaman BL, Beaman L. Nocardia species: Host-parasite relationship. Clin Microbiol Rev 1994; 7: 213–264.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Poonwan N, Kusum M, Mikami Y, Yazawa K, Tanaka Y, Gonoi Hasegawa T, Konyama K. Pathogenic Nocardia isolated from clinical specimens including those of AIDS patients in Thailand. Eur J Epidemiol 1995; 11: 507–512.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Javaly K, Horowitz HW, Wormser GP. Nocardiosis in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Medicine (Baltimore) 1992; 128–138.

  8. Cross T, Rowbotham TJ, Mishustin EN, Tepper EZ, Antoineportaeles F, Schaal KP, Bickenbach H. The ecology of nocardioform actinomycetes. In: Goodfellow M, Brownell GH, Serrano JA, eds. The Biology of the Nocardiae, London: Academic Press, 1976; 337–371.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Wang L, Zhang Y, Lu Z, Shi Y, Liu Z, Maldonado L, Goodfellow M. Nocardia beijingensis sp. nov., a novel isolate from soil. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2001; 51: 1783–1788.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Schaal KP. Identification of clinically significant actionomycetes and related bacteria. In: Goodfellow M, Minnikin DE, eds. Chemical Methods in Bacterial Systematics. London: Academic Press, 1985; 359–381.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Mikami Y, Yazawa K. Susceptibility patterns of pathogenic Nocardia to some selected antimicrobial agents and their usefulness in the identification work. Bull of JFCC 1989; 5: 89–95.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Tamura M, Watanabe K, Mikami Y, Yazawa K, Nishiumura K. Molecular characterization of new clinical isolates of Candida albicans and C. dubliniensis in Japan: Analysis reveals a new genotype of C. albicans with group 1 intron. J Clin Microbiol 2001; 39: 4309–4315.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Saitou N, Nei M. The neighbor-joining method: A new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. Mol Biol Evol 1987; 4: 406–425.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Thompson JD, Higgins DG, Gibson TJ. CLUSTAL W: Improving the sensitivity of progressive multiple sequence alignment through sequence weighting, position specific gap penalties and weight matrix choice. Nucleic Acids Res 1994; 22: 4673–4680.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Shimizu A, Ishikawa O, Nagai Y, Mikami Y, Nishimura K. Primary cutaneous nocardiosis due to Nocardia nova in a healthy woman. Brit J Dermatol 2001; 145: 154–156.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Furumoto H, Sasaki T, Tatebayashi K, Shimizu T, Mikami Y. Profound skin infection with bone involvement due to Nocardia asteroids in a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome. J Dermatol 2001; 28: 582–583.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Pathogenic Fungi and Microbial Toxicoses, Chiba University, 1-8-1, Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, 260-8673, Japan

    Akiko Kageyama, Katsukiyo Yazawa, Yuzuru Mikami & Kazuko Nishimura

  2. Division of Mycology, National Institute of Health, Department of Medical Sciences, Nonthaburi, Thailand

    Natteewan Poonwan

Authors
  1. Akiko Kageyama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Natteewan Poonwan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Katsukiyo Yazawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yuzuru Mikami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kazuko Nishimura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuzuru Mikami.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kageyama, A., Poonwan, N., Yazawa, K. et al. Nocardia beijingensis, is a Pathogenic Bacterium to Humans: The First Infectious Cases in Thailand and Japan. Mycopathologia 157, 155–161 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:MYCO.0000020588.60081.37

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:MYCO.0000020588.60081.37

Search

Navigation