''Mycobacterium vanbaalenii'' is a rapidly growing mycobacterium that can use

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is a class of organic compounds that is composed of multiple aromatic rings. The simplest representative is naphthalene, having two aromatic rings and the three-ring compounds anthracene and phenanthrene. ...

. It was first isolated from petroleum-contaminated estuarine sediments and has been shown by 16S rRNA gene sequencing to be closely related to ''

Mycobacterium aurum ''Mycolicibacterium aurum'' is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota (Gram-positive bacteria with high guanine and cytosine content, one of the dominant phyla of all bacteria), belonging to the genus ''Mycolicibacterium''. The species is an ...

'' and ''

Mycobacterium vaccae ''Mycobacterium vaccae'' is a nonpathogenic species of the Mycobacteriaceae family of bacteria that lives naturally in soil. Its generic name originates from the Latin word, ''vacca'' (cow), since the first ''Mycobacterium'' strain was cultured ...

''. ''M. vanbaalenii'' has potential use in the

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 ...

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is a class of organic compounds that is composed of multiple aromatic rings. The simplest representative is naphthalene, having two aromatic rings and the three-ring compounds anthracene and phenanthrene. ...

contaminated environmental sites.

Etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

: vanbaalenii of Van Baalen, in memory of Dr Chase Van Baalen, late Professor at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas Marine Laboratory, Port Aransas, TX, USA.

Description

Microscopy * Gram-positive, acid-fast rods (1.4 um long and 0.7 um wide) Colony characteristics *Colonies are smooth and saffron yellow. Physiology *Can grow well at 24 and 37 °C, with minimal or no growth at 42 °C. *Classified as a rapidly growing Mycobacterium species *Cells are aerobic, Catalase- and urease-positive, reduce nitrate to nitrite. *metabolizes salicylic acid, hydrolyses Tween 80, reduces tellurite and uses pyrene,

anthracene Anthracene is a solid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) of formula C14H10, consisting of three fused benzene rings. It is a component of coal tar. Anthracene is used in the production of the red dye alizarin and other dyes. Anthracene is col ...

fluoranthene Fluoranthene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). The molecule can be viewed as the fusion of naphthalene and benzene unit connected by a five-membered ring. Although samples are often pale yellow, the compound is colorless. It is soluble ...

, naphthalene, phenanthrene, 1-nitropyrene, 6-nitrochrysene,

3-methylcholanthrene Methylcholanthrene is a highly carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon produced by burning organic compounds at very high temperatures. Methylcholanthrene is also known as 3-methylcholanthrene, 20-methylcholanthrene or the IUPAC name 3-methy ...

and

benzopyrene A benzopyrene is an organic compound with the formula C20H12. Structurally speaking, the colorless isomers of benzopyrene are pentacyclic hydrocarbons and are fusion products of pyrene and a phenylene group. Two isomeric species of benzopyrene ar ...

Pathogenesis

*First isolated from an environmental source, not known to be pathogenic.

Type strain

*Strain PYR-1 = DSM 7251 = JCM 13017 = NRRL B-24157.

References

*Khan A.A., 2002. Classification of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-metabolizing bacterium, Mycobacterium sp. strain PYR-1, as Mycobacterium vanbaalenii sp. nov. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 52, 1997–2002.

External links

Type strain of ''Mycobacterium vanbaalenii'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Acid-fast bacilli vanbaalenii Bacteria described in 2002 {{Mycobacterium-stub