Characterization of a Novel Brucella Strain (BO1) Associated with a Prosthetic Breast Implant Infection

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333; Oregon State Public Health Lab, Portland, OR 97201; Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom; and Kaiser Permanente, Portland, OR 97230

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: bkd1{at}cdc.gov.

	Abstract

We report the microbiological, biochemical and molecular characterization of an unusual Brucella strain (BO1) isolated from a breast implant wound in a 71-year-old woman with clinical symptoms consistent with brucellosis. Initial phenotypic analysis, including biochemical, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, cellular fatty acid analysis, and molecular analysis based on DNA-DNA reassociation and the presence of multiple copies of IS711 element suggested that the isolate was a Brucella-like organism, but species determination using microbiological algorithms was unsuccessful. Furthermore, molecular data based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multi-locus sequence analysis demonstrated that BO1 was an unusual Brucella strain and not closely related to any currently described Brucella species. However, comparison with equivalent sequences in Ochrobactrum spp. confirms that the isolate is much more closely related to Brucella than to Ochrobactrum spp. and thus the isolate likely represents an atypical and novel strain within the genus Brucella.