''Ralstonia pickettii'' is a
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 wa ...
, rod-shaped,
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debri ...
bacterium
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 amon ...
.
''Ralstonia pickettii'' is a
Betaproteobacteria
Betaproteobacteria are a class of Gram-negative bacteria, and one of the eight classes of the phylum Pseudomonadota (synonym Proteobacteria).
The ''Betaproteobacteria'' are a class comprising over 75 genera and 400 species of bacteria. Togeth ...
species found in moist environments such as soils, rivers, and lakes. It has also been identified in
biofilm
A biofilm comprises any syntrophic consortium of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often also to a surface. These adherent cells become embedded within a slimy extracellular matrix that is composed of extracellular ...
s in plastic water pipes. It is an oligotrophic organism, making it capable of surviving in areas with a very low concentration of nutrients. Several strains have shown an ability to survive in environments highly contaminated with metals. The ability to persist in these harsh conditions makes ''R. pickettii'' a candidate for
bioremediation
Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi, and plants), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluent ...
.
''Ralstonia pickettii'' and ''R. insidiosa'' are emerging pathogens in
hospital settings. ''R. pickettii'' pathology does not follow an easy definition; although no fully healthy human has ever become ill from it, the bacterium has seriously affected humans with poor health. Several hospitals have reported outbreaks—in particular, patients with
cystic fibrosis and
Crohn's disease have been shown to be infected with ''R. picketti''. Of the 55 reported cases of such infection, the majority are due to contaminated solutions such as water, saline, and sterile drugs. These solutions are usually contaminated when the product is manufactured, because ''R. pickettii'' has the ability to pass through 0.45 and 0.2 µm filters that are used to sterilize medicinal products. The majority of ''R. pickettii'' and ''R. insidiosa'' isolates showed susceptibility to most of the antibiotics tested. The most effective were found to be the
quinolones
Quinolone may refer to:
* 2-Quinolone
* 4-Quinolone
4-Quinolone is an organic compound derived from quinoline. It and 2-quinolone are the two most important parent (meaning simplified) quinolones. 4-Quinolone exists in equilibrium with a mino ...
and
sulfamethoxazole/
trimethoprim
Trimethoprim (TMP) is an antibiotic used mainly in the treatment of bladder infections. Other uses include for middle ear infections and travelers' diarrhea. With sulfamethoxazole or dapsone it may be used for ''Pneumocystis'' pneumonia in peo ...
. The two bacterial species can be difficult to tell apart.
References
External links
Type strain of ''Ralstonia pickettii'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Burkholderiales
Bacteria described in 1973
{{betaproteobacteria-stub