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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2004, p. 5139-5145, Vol. 42, No. 11
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.11.5139-5145.2004

Nocardia kruczakiae sp. nov., a Pathogen in Immunocompromised Patients and a Member of the "N. nova Complex"

Patricia S. Conville,^1* June M. Brown,² Arnold G. Steigerwalt,² Judy W. Lee,^1, Victoria L. Anderson,³ Joel T. Fishbain,⁴ Steven M. Holland,³ and Frank G. Witebsky¹

Microbiology Service, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center,¹ Laboratory of Host Defenses, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland,³ Meningitis and Special Pathogens Branch, Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, Georgia,² Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.⁴

Received 23 March 2004/ Returned for modification 18 June 2004/ Accepted 11 July 2004

Molecular methodologies have become useful techniques for the identification of pathogenic Nocardia species and for the recognition of novel species that are capable of causing human disease. Two isolates recovered from immunocompromised patients were characterized as Nocardia nova by biochemical and susceptibility testing results. The restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns obtained by restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) of an amplified portion of the heat shock protein gene were identical to those obtained with the type strain of N. nova. REA of an amplified portion of the 16S rRNA gene showed RFLP patterns that were unlike those obtained for the type strain of N. nova but that were similar to those obtained for the type strains of N. africana and N. veterana. Subsequent sequencing of a portion of the 16S rRNA gene produced identical results for the two patient isolates. Sequence analysis of 1,352-bp portions of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that these isolates were 99.8% similar to the recently described species N. veterana but were only 99.3, 98.1, and 98.1% similar to the type strains of N. africana, N. nova, and N. vaccinii, respectively. DNA-DNA hybridization studies confirmed that the two patient isolates belonged to the same species but were not closely related to N. africana, N. nova, N. vaccinii, or N. veterana. The patient isolates have been designated N. kruczakiae sp. nov. Because N. africana, N. veterana, and the new species are not readily differentiated from N. nova by phenotypic methods alone, the designation "N. nova complex" can be used to designate isolates such as these that phenotypically resemble N. nova but that have not been definitively characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing or DNA-DNA hybridization.

Present address: Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill.

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