''Proteus vulgaris'' is a

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 ...

, nitrate-reducing,

indole Indole is an aromatic heterocyclic organic compound with the formula C8 H7 N. It has a bicyclic structure, consisting of a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered pyrrole ring. Indole is widely distributed in the natural environmen ...

-positive and

catalase Catalase is a common enzyme found in nearly all living organisms exposed to oxygen (such as bacteria, plants, and animals) which catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen. It is a very important enzyme in protecting t ...

-positive,

hydrogen sulfide Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...

-producing,

Gram-negative bacterium 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 ...

that inhabits the intestinal tracts of humans and animals. It can be found in soil, water, and

fecal Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

matter. It is grouped with the

Morganellaceae The Morganellaceae are a family of Gram-negative bacteria that include some important human pathogens formerly classified as Enterobacteriaceae. This family is a member of the order Enterobacterales in the class Gammaproteobacteria of the phylum ...

and is an opportunistic pathogen of humans. It is known to cause

wound 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 dis ...

s and other species of its genera are known to cause

urinary tract infection A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects part of the urinary tract. When it affects the lower urinary tract it is known as a bladder infection (cystitis) and when it affects the upper urinary tract it is known as a kidney ...

s. ''P. vulgaris'' was one of the three species Hauser isolated from putrefied meat and identified (1885). Over the past two decades, the genus ''Proteus'', and in particular ''P. vulgaris'', has undergone a number of major taxonomic revisions. In 1982, ''P. vulgaris'' was separated into three biogroups on the basis of

production. Biogroup one was indole negative and represented a new species, ''P. penneri'', while biogroups two and three remained together as ''P. vulgaris''.

Lab identification

According to laboratory fermentation tests, ''P. vulgaris'' ferments glucose and amygdalin, but does not ferment mannitol or lactose. ''P. vulgaris'' also tests positive for the methyl red (mixed acid fermentation) test and is also an extremely motile organism. When ''P. vulgaris'' is tested using the API 20E identification system it produces positive results for sulfur reduction, urease production, tryptophan deaminase production, indole production, sometimes positive gelatinase activity, and saccharose fermentation, and negative results for the remainder of the tests on the testing strip. It is referenced in the

Analytical Profile Index The analytical profile index or API is a classification of bacteria based on biochemical tests, allowing fast identification. This system is developed for quick identification of clinically relevant bacteria. Because of this, only known bacteri ...

using the nine-digit code: 047602157. The optimal growing conditions of this organism is in a facultative anaerobic environment with an average temperature of about 40 °C. The Becton/Dickinson BBL Enterotube II system for identification of members of the order Enterobacterales inoculated with ''P. vulgaris'' may yield the following results: *Positive for glucose fermentation (with gas production) *Negative for lysine and ornithine *Positive for hydrogen sulfide production and indole production *Negative for

lactose Lactose is a disaccharide sugar synthesized by galactose and glucose subunits and has the molecular formula C12H22O11. Lactose makes up around 2–8% of milk (by mass). The name comes from ' (gen. '), the Latin word for milk, plus the suffix '' - ...

arabinose Arabinose is an aldopentose – a monosaccharide containing five carbon atoms, and including an aldehyde (CHO) functional group. For biosynthetic reasons, most saccharides are almost always more abundant in nature as the "D"-form, or structurally ...

adonitol Ribitol, or adonitol, is a crystalline pentose alcohol (C5H12O5) formed by the reduction of ribose. It occurs naturally in the plant '' Adonis vernalis'' as well as in the cell walls of some Gram-positive bacteria, in the form of ribitol phosp ...

sorbitol Sorbitol (), less commonly known as glucitol (), is a sugar alcohol with a sweet taste which the human body metabolizes slowly. It can be obtained by reduction of glucose, which changes the converted aldehyde group (−CHO) to a primary alcohol g ...

and

dulcitol Galactitol (dulcitol) is a sugar alcohol, the reduction product of galactose. It has a slightly sweet taste. In people with galactokinase deficiency, a form of galactosemia, excess dulcitol forms in the lens of the eye leading to cataracts. Gala ...

*Positive for the phenylalanine test and the Harnstoff urea test ''P. vulgaris'' can test positive or negative for citrate. All combine for a Biocode ID of 31406, (Biocode ID 31402, 31404, 31407 all resulting in ''P. vulgaris'' with asymptomatic results) for use in the Interpretation Guide/Computer Coding and Identification System. ''P. vulgaris'' can also test urease negative in solid media (such as in Enterotube), but will be urease positive in liquid media. The CCIS code will still identify it with a negative urease test. When inoculated in a gelatin stab test, ''P. vulgaris'' is capable of hydrolysis of gelatin.

''Proteus'' infections

Cause and epidemiology

*Nosocomial infections *''P. mirabilis'' causes 9% of ''Proteus'' infections. *''P. vulgaris'' and ''P. penneri'' are easily isolated from individuals in long-term care facilities and hospitals and from patients with underlying diseases or compromised immune systems. *Patients with recurrent infections, those with structural abnormalities of the urinary tract, those who have had urethral instrumentation, and those whose infections were acquired in the hospital have an increased frequency of infection caused by ''Proteus'' and other organisms (e.g., ''Klebsiella'', ''Enterobacter'', ''Pseudomonas'', enterococci, and staphylococci). *P. vulgaris is highly resistant to antibiotics because of the

plasmid A plasmid is a small, extrachromosomal DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently. They are most commonly found as small circular, double-stranded DNA molecules in bacteria; how ...

s present in the bacterium, making infections extremely difficult to cure. This is because the plasmids have varied drug resistant markers on them.

Clinical expression

Enterobacterales (of which ''Proteus ''is a member) and ''Pseudomonas'' species are the micro-organisms most commonly responsible for Gram-negative bacteremia and sepsis. The presence of the sepsis syndrome associated with a urinary tract infection (UTI) should raise the possibility of

urinary tract obstruction Urinary tract obstruction is a urologic disease consisting of a decrease in the free passage of urine through one or both ureters and/or the urethra. It is a cause of urinary retention. Complete obstruction of the urinary tract requires prompt tre ...

. This is especially true of patients who reside in long-term care facilities, who have long-term indwelling urethral catheters, or who have a known history of urethral anatomic abnormalities. ;UTI obstruction Urease production leads to precipitation of organic and inorganic compounds, which leads to struvite stone formation. Struvite stones are composed of a combination of magnesium ammonium phosphate (struvite) and calcium carbonate-apatite. Struvite stone formation can be sustained only when ammonia production is increased and the urine pH is elevated to decrease the solubility of phosphate. Both of these requirements can occur only when urine is infected with a urease-producing organism such as ''Proteus''. Urease metabolizes urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide: urea 2 NH₃ + CO₂. The ammonia/ammonium buffer pair has a pK of 9.0, resulting in the combination of highly alkaline, ammonia-rich urine. Symptoms attributable to struvite stones are uncommon. More often, women present with UTI, flank pain, or hematuria, and are found to have a persistently alkaline urine pH (>7.0).

Treatments

Antibiotics to which ''P. vulgaris'' is known to be sensitive: *

Ciprofloxacin Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic used to treat a number of bacterial infections. This includes bone and joint infections, intra abdominal infections, certain types of infectious diarrhea, respiratory tract infections, skin infec ...

Ceftazidime Ceftazidime, sold under the brand name Fortaz among others, is a third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic useful for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections. Specifically it is used for joint infections, meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, ...

* Netilmicin *

Sulbactam Sulbactam is a β-lactamase inhibitor. This drug is given in combination with β-lactam antibiotics to inhibit β-lactamase, an enzyme produced by bacteria that destroys the antibiotics. It was patented in 1977 and approved for medical use in 19 ...

cefoperazone Cefoperazone is a third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic, marketed by Pfizer under the name Cefobid. It is one of few cephalosporin antibiotics effective in treating ''Pseudomonas'' bacterial infections which are otherwise resistant to these ...

Meropenem Meropenem, sold under the brand name Merrem among others, is an intravenous β-lactam antibiotic used to treat a variety of bacterial infections. Some of these include meningitis, intra-abdominal infection, pneumonia, sepsis, and anthrax. Comm ...

Piperacillin/tazobactam Piperacillin/tazobactam, sold under the brand name Zosyn among others, is a combination medication containing the antibiotic piperacillin and the β-lactamase inhibitor Beta-lactamases, (β-lactamases) are enzymes () produced by bacteri ...

Ampicillin/sulbactam Ampicillin/sulbactam is a fixed-dose combination medication of the common penicillin-derived antibiotic ampicillin and sulbactam, an inhibitor of bacterial beta-lactamase. Two different forms of the drug exist. The first, developed in 1987 and m ...

References

“Proteus Vulgaris.” Thistle, Thistle.co, www.thistle.co.za/pdf_files/education/microbiology/microbiology_legends/Cycle_41/Cycle%2041%20Organism%203%20-%20Proteus%20Vulgaris.pdf.

External links

Type strain of ''Proteus vulgaris'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proteus Vulgaris Bacteria described in 1885