First description of Curtobacterium spp. isolated from human clinical specimens

During a 4-year period, five strains (three of which were doubtless clinically significant) of yellow- or orange-pigmented, oxidative, slowly acid-producing coryneform bacteria were recovered from human clinical specimens in two reference laboratories or referred to them. The strains were motile, catalase positive, nitrate reductase negative, and urease negative, but strongly hydrolyzed esculin. In all reference and clinical strains described in the present study, anteisopentadecanoic (C(15:0ai)) and anteisoheptadecanoic (C(17:0ai)) acids represented more than 75% of all cellular fatty acids except in one clinical strain and in Curtobacterium pusillum, in which both the unusual omega-cyclohexyl fatty acid (identified as C(18:1omega7cis/omega9cis/omega12trans) by the Sherlock system) represented more than 50% of all cellular fatty acids. In all clinical strains, ornithine was the diamino acid of the cell wall, the interpeptide bridge consisted of ornithine, and acetyl was the acyl type of the peptidoglycan. Therefore, the five clinical strains were unambiguously identified as Curtobacterium spp. Analyses of the complete 16S rRNA genes of the five clinical strains with homologies to the established Curtobacterium species ranging from 99.2 to 100% confirmed the identifications as Curtobacterium spp. Data on the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of curtobacteria are reported, with macrolides and rifampin showing very low MICs for all strains tested. This report is the first on the isolation of Curtobacterium strains from human clinical specimens.