Synergistic hemolysis between β-lysin-producing Staphylococcus species and Rothia nasimurium in primary cultures of clinical specimens obtained from dogs

David A Bemis; Mary Jean Bryant; Porsha P Reed; Rupal A Brahmbhatt; Stephen A Kania

doi:10.1177/1040638714532098

Synergistic hemolysis between β-lysin-producing Staphylococcus species and Rothia nasimurium in primary cultures of clinical specimens obtained from dogs

J Vet Diagn Invest. 2014 May;26(3):437-441. doi: 10.1177/1040638714532098. Epub 2014 Apr 23.

Authors

David A Bemis¹, Mary Jean Bryant², Porsha P Reed², Rupal A Brahmbhatt², Stephen A Kania²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN bemis@utk.edu.
² Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.

PMID: 24760132
DOI: 10.1177/1040638714532098

Abstract

Nonhemolytic isolates of catalase-positive, Gram-positive cocci were observed that produced strong synergistic hemolysis with colonies of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi subsp. coagulans in primary cultures of clinical specimens from dogs. The isolates appeared similar to nonhemolytic staphylococci but were not identified with conventional biochemical tests or commercial biochemical test kits. Partial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences from each of 9 tested isolates were nearly identical to that of Rothia nasimurium. The isolates produced positive Christie-Atkins-Munch-Peterson test reactions with Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC strain 25923) and Staphylococcus intermedius Hajek (ATCC strain 49052). The latter was identified in the current study as S. pseudintermedius. Rothia nasimurium appears to be a previously unreported commensal organism in dogs. Its potential significance as an opportunistic contributor to polymicrobial infections in dogs is not known.

Keywords: Rothia nasimurium; Staphylococcus pseudintermedius; Dogs; synergistic hemolysis.