''Enterobacter'' is a genus of common

Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall ...

rod-shaped A bacillus (), also called a bacilliform bacterium or often just a rod (when the context makes the sense clear), is a rod-shaped bacterium or archaeon. Bacilli are found in many different taxonomic groups of bacteria. However, the name ''Bacillu ...

, non-spore-forming

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

of the family

Enterobacteriaceae Enterobacteriaceae is a large family (biology), family of Gram-negative bacteria. It was first proposed by Rahn in 1936, and now includes over 30 genera and more than 100 species. Its classification above the level of family is still a subject ...

. It is the type genus of the order

Enterobacterales Enterobacterales is an order of Gram-negative, non-spore forming, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria with the class Gammaproteobacteria. The type genus of this order is ''Enterobacter.'' The name Enterobacterales is derived from the ...

. Several strains of these bacteria are

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

ic and cause

opportunistic infection An opportunistic infection is an infection caused by pathogens (bacteria, fungi, parasites or viruses) that take advantage of an opportunity not normally available. These opportunities can stem from a variety of sources, such as a weakened immune ...

s in immunocompromised (usually hospitalized) hosts and in those who are on

mechanical ventilation Mechanical ventilation, assisted ventilation or intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV), is the medical term for using a machine called a ventilator to fully or partially provide artificial ventilation. Mechanical ventilation helps move air ...

. The urinary and

respiratory tract The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of respiration in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respiratory mucosa. Air is breathed in through the nose to th ...

s are the most common sites of

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

. The genus ''Enterobacter'' is a member of the coliform group of bacteria. It does not belong to the

fecal coliform A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth ...

s (or thermotolerant coliforms) group of bacteria, unlike ''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

'', because it is incapable of growth at 44.5 °C in the presence of

bile salts Bile acids are steroid acids found predominantly in the bile of mammals and other vertebrates. Diverse bile acids are synthesized in the liver. Bile acids are conjugated with taurine or glycine residues to give anions called bile salts. Primary b ...

. Some of them show quorum sensing properties. One clinically important species from this genus is '' E. cloacae''. Researchers in 2018 reported, after detecting the presence on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

(ISS) of five '' Enterobacter bugandensis'' bacterial strains, none pathogenic to humans, that

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

s on ISS should be carefully monitored to continue assuring a medically healthy environment for the astronauts.

Biochemical characteristics

The genus ''Enterobacter'' ferments lactose with gas production during a 48-hour incubation at 35-37 °C in the presence of bile salts and detergents. It is

oxidase In biochemistry, an oxidase is an enzyme that catalyzes oxidation-reduction reactions, especially one involving dioxygen (O2) as the electron acceptor. In reactions involving donation of a hydrogen atom, oxygen is reduced to water (H2O) or hydro ...

-negative, indole-negative, and

urease Ureases (), functionally, belong to the superfamily of amidohydrolases and phosphotriesterases. Ureases are found in numerous bacteria, fungi, algae, plants, and some invertebrates, as well as in soils, as a soil enzyme. They are nickel-containin ...

-variable.Russo Thomas A, Johnson James R, "Chapter 143. Diseases Caused by Gram-Negative Enteric Bacilli" (Chapter). Fauci AS, Braunwald E, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Longo DL, Jameson JL, Loscalzo J: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 17e: http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2894446.

Treatment

Treatment is dependent on local trends of

antibiotic resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials. All classes of microbes can evolve resistance. Fungi evolve antifungal resistance. Viruses evolve antiviral resistance. ...

. '' Enterobacter huaxiensis'' and '' Enterobacter chuandaensis'' are two recently discovered species that exhibit especially antibiotic resistant characteristics.

Cefepime Cefepime is a fourth-generation cephalosporin antibiotic. Cefepime has an extended spectrum of activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with greater activity against both types of organism than third-generation agents. A 2007 ...

, a fourth-generation

cephalosporin The cephalosporins (sg. ) are a class of β-lactam antibiotics originally derived from the fungus ''Acremonium'', which was previously known as ''Cephalosporium''. Together with cephamycins, they constitute a subgroup of β-lactam antibiotics ...

from the β-Lactam antibiotic class.

Imipenem Imipenem (trade name Primaxin among others) is an intravenous β-lactam antibiotic discovered by Merck scientists Burton Christensen, William Leanza, and Kenneth Wildonger in the mid-1970s. Carbapenems are highly resistant to the β-lactamase enzy ...

carbapenem Carbapenems are a class of very effective antibiotic agents most commonly used for the treatment of severe bacterial infections. This class of antibiotics is usually reserved for known or suspected multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections. ...

) is often the antibiotic of choice. Aminoglycosides such as

amikacin Amikacin is an antibiotic medication used for a number of bacterial infections. This includes joint infections, intra-abdominal infections, meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, and urinary tract infections. It is also used for the treatment of multi ...

have been found to be very effective, as well.

Quinolones Quinolone may refer to: * 2-Quinolone * 4-Quinolone * Quinolone antibiotic A quinolone antibiotic is a member of a large group of broad-spectrum bacteriocidals that share a bicyclic core structure related to the substance 4-quinolone. They ar ...

can be an effective alternative.

Linked to obesity

A 2012 study has shown that the presence of '' Enterobacter cloacae'' B29 in the gut of a morbidly obese individual may have contributed to the patient’s

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

. Reduction of the bacterial load within the patient’s gut, from 35% ''E. cloacae'' B29 to non-detectable levels, was associated with a parallel reduction in endotoxin load in the patient and a concomitant, significant reduction in weight. Furthermore, the same bacterial strain, isolated from the patient, induced

and

insulin resistance Insulin resistance (IR) is a pathological condition in which cell (biology), cells fail to respond normally to the hormone insulin. Insulin is a hormone that facilitates the transport of glucose from blood into cells, thereby reducing blood gluco ...

in germfree C57BL/6J mice that were being fed a high-fat diet. The study concludes that ''E. cloacae'' B29 may contribute to

in its human hosts through an endotoxin-induced,

inflammation Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...

-mediated mechanism.

References

External links

*
''Enterobacter'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Enterobacteriaceae Gram-negative bacteria Bacteria genera