''Providencia stuartii'' (commonly ''P. stuartii''), is a

Gram negative The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

bacillus ''Bacillus'' (Latin "stick") is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria, a member of the phylum ''Bacillota'', with 266 named species. The term is also used to describe the shape (rod) of other so-shaped bacteria; and the plural ''Bacilli ...

that is commonly found in soil, water, and sewage. ''P. stuartii'' is the most common of the 5 species found in the genus Providencia, with ''

Providencia rettgeri ''Providencia rettgeri'' (commonly ''P. rettgeri''), is a Gram negative bacterium that is commonly found in both water and land environments. ''P. rettgeri'' is in the genus Providencia, along with '' Providencia stuartii'', '' Providencia alca ...

'', '' Providencia alcalifaciens'', '' Providencia rustigianii'', '' P heimbachae''. ''Providencia stuartii'' can be incubated at 37 °C in nutrient agar or nutrient broth. ''P. stuartii'' is the genomic source for the

restriction endonuclease A restriction enzyme, restriction endonuclease, REase, ENase or'' restrictase '' is an enzyme that cleaves DNA into fragments at or near specific recognition sites within molecules known as restriction sites. Restriction enzymes are one class o ...

PstI ''Pst''I is a type II restriction endonuclease isolated from the Gram negative species, '' Providencia stuartii''. Function ''Pst''I cleaves DNA at the recognition sequence 5′-CTGCA/G-3′ generating fragments with 3′-cohesive termini. This ...

. Some other important information about ''P. stuartii'' is that it is motile via flagella, non-sporulating, non-lactose fermenting, catalase positive and oxidase negative. It can also grow in anaerobic conditions and on Simmon’s Citrate Agar.

Role in diseases

''Providencia stuartii'' is the most common '' Providencia'' species capable of causing human

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 ...

s. ''Providencia stuartii'' is an opportunistic

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 ...

seen in patients with severe burns or long-term indwelling urinary catheters. This puts elderly individuals at a greater risk for ''P. stuartii'' infections. In animals ''P. stuartii'' infections can cause neonatal diarrhea due to ''P. stuartii'' infection in dairy cows. In humans, ''P. stuartii'' can be isolated from urine (most common), stool, and blood, as well as from sputum, skin, and wound cultures. ''P. stuartii''

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

is primarily of urinary origin. It is the most common cause of

purple urine bag syndrome Purple urine bag syndrome (PUBS) is a medical syndrome where purple discoloration of urine occurs in people with urinary catheters and co-existent urinary tract infection. Bacteria in the urine produce the enzyme indoxyl sulfatase. This converts i ...

. Upon physical examination, ''P stuartii'' bloodstream infection is associated with

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

tachycardia Tachycardia, also called tachyarrhythmia, is a heart rate that exceeds the normal resting rate. In general, a resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute is accepted as tachycardia in adults. Heart rates above the resting rate may be normal (su ...

, and

hypotension Hypotension is low blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. Blood pressure is indicated by two numbers, the systolic blood pressure (the top number) and the dias ...

References

External links

DSMZ
German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures
Type strain of ''Providencia stuartii'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7252511 Providencia (bacterium) Bacteria described in 1962