Nematode Symbiont for Photorhabdus asymbiotica

Photorhabdus asymbiotica is an emerging bacterial pathogen that causes locally invasive soft tissue and disseminated bacteremic infections in the United States and Australia. Although the source of infection was previously unknown, we report that the bacterium is found in a symbiotic association with an insect-pathogenic soil nematode of the genus Heterorhabditis

Culture negative mitral valve endocarditis caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae confirmed by 16S rDNA sequence analysis of resected valvular tissue

Infective endocarditis is a dynamic disease with changing epidemiology and diagnostic strategies. Culture negative endocarditis poses a particular problem for clinicians regarding appropriate antimicrobial therapy and adequate duration of therapy. Utilization of nucleic acid amplification techniques and subsequent sequencing has provided clinicians an alternative to traditional phenotypic microbial identification which has been extremely useful in identification of fastidious organisms. We report a case of a young male with culture negative native mitral valve endocarditis and subsequent 16S rDNA sequencing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from excised valvular tissue and embolic material. Identification of this organism with novel nucleic acid amplification and 16S rDNA sequence analysis techniques permitted targeted antibiotic therapy and successful treatment of this potentially fatal disease