What are the characteristics of Proteus mirabilis?
Proteus mirabilis is a gram-negative facultative anaerobe with swarming motility and an ability to self-elongate and secrete a polysaccharide which allows it to attach to and move along surfaces like catheters, intravenous lines, and other medical equipment.
What are the main characteristics to diagnosis Proteus?
LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS Proteus spp. are identified by the following biochemical characteristics: positive methyl-red reaction, negative Voges-Proskauer reaction, phenylalanine deaminase production, growth on KCN and urease production.
How do you identify Proteus bacteria?
This species can be identified as a Gram-negative rod that is motile, urease-positive, lactose-negative, indole-negative, and produces hydrogen sulfide (1). It is a member of the same bacterial family (Enterobacteriaceae) as E. coli.
Where are Proteus bacteria found?
Proteus species are most commonly found in the human intestinal tract as part of normal human intestinal flora, along with Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species, of which E coli is the predominant resident. Proteus is also found in multiple environmental habitats, including long-term care facilities and hospitals.
How can you tell the difference between Proteus and Salmonella?
It is oxidase-negative but catalase- and nitrate-positive. Specific tests include positive urease (which is the fundamental test to differentiate Proteus from Salmonella) and phenylalanine deaminase tests. On the species level, indole is considered reliable, as it is positive for P. vulgaris, but negative for P.
What does Proteus look like?
Proteus is a gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium of the Enterobacteriaceae family (Brooker 2008). Under the microscope it is rod shaped, motile (can move due to its flagella) and has a characteristic “swarming” ability that allows it to migrate across catheter surfaces (Armbruster 2013).
Where is Proteus usually found?
human intestinal tract
Proteus species are most commonly found in the human intestinal tract as part of normal human intestinal flora, along with Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species, of which E coli is the predominant resident. Proteus is also found in multiple environmental habitats, including long-term care facilities and hospitals.
What is the cell structure of Proteus vulgaris?
Cell structure P. vulgaris is a rod-shaped, chemoorganotrophic, Gram-negative bacteria between 1 and 3 microns in size (2). It is motile by peritrichous flagella, and does not have capsules or spores (2). A key characteristic of genus Proteus is swarming ability, and a simple Dienes test is used to differentiate between strains (17).
What is a Proteus infection?
They are opportunistic pathogens, commonly responsible for urinary and septic infections, often nosocomial . The term Proteus signifies changeability of form, as personified in the Homeric poems in Proteus, “the old man of the sea”, who tends the sealflocks of Poseidon and has the gift of endless transformation.
Is Proteus mirabilis Gram positive or negative?
Proteus mirabilis appears as Gram-negative rods after Gram staining under bright-field microscopy with 1000 times magnification. Proteus mirabilis is a Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium. It shows swarming motility and urease activity. P. mirabilis causes 90% of all Proteus infections in humans.
What is the structure of Proteus mirabilis?
In liquid culture, Proteus mirabilis exists as a vegetative cell that is approximately 2µm long and has four to ten peritrichous flagella. In the vegetative cell the flagella are used to propel the bacterium forward.