Pseudomonas fitomaticsae sp. nov., isolated at Marimurtra Botanical Garden in Blanes, Catalonia, Spain.

In the framework of the research project called fitomatics, we have isolated and characterized a bacterial plant-endophyte from the rhizomes of Iris germanica, hereafter referred to as strain FIT81T. The bacterium is Gram negative, rod-shaped with lophotrichous flagella, and catalase- and oxidase-positive. The optimal growth temperature of strain FIT81T is 28 °C, although it can grow within a temperature range of 4-32 °C. The pH growth tolerance ranges between pH 5 and 10, and it tolerates 4% (w/v) NaCl. A 16S rRNA phylogenetic analysis positioned strain FIT81T within the genus Pseudomonas, and multilocus sequence analysis revealed that Pseudomonas gozinkensis IzPS32dT, Pseudomonas glycinae MS586T, Pseudomonas allokribbensis IzPS23T, 'Pseudomonas kribbensis' 46-2 and Pseudomonas koreensis PS9-14T are the top five most closely related species, which were selected for further genome-to-genome comparisons, as well as for physiological and chemotaxonomic characterization. The genome size of strain FIT81T is 6 492 796 base-pairs long, with 60.6 mol% of G+C content. Average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization analyses yielded values of 93.6 and 56.1%, respectively, when the FIT81T genome was compared to that of the closest type strain P. gozinkensis IzPS32dT. Taken together, the obtained genomic, physiologic and chemotaxonomic data indicate that strain FIT81T is different from its closest relative species, which lead us to suggest that it is a novel species to be included in the list of type strains with the name Pseudomonas fitomaticsae sp. nov. (FIT81T=CECT 30374T=DSM 112699T).

Marine-Derived Surface Active Agents: Health-Promoting Properties and Blue Biotechnology-Based Applications.

Surface active agents are characterized for their capacity to adsorb to fluid and solid-water interfaces. They can be classified as surfactants and emulsifiers based on their molecular weight (MW) and properties. Over the years, the chemical surfactant industry has been rapidly increasing to meet consumer demands. Consequently, such a boost has led to the search for more sustainable and biodegradable alternatives, as chemical surfactants are non-biodegradable, thus causing an adverse effect on the environment. To these ends, many microbial and/or marine-derived molecules have been shown to possess various biological properties that could allow manufacturers to make additional health-promoting claims for their products. Our aim, in this review article, is to provide up to date information of critical health-promoting properties of these molecules and their use in blue-based biotechnology (i.e., biotechnology using aquatic organisms) with a focus on food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical/biomedical applications.

Prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia: can knowledge and clinical practice be simply assessed in a large institution?

OBJECTIVE: User-friendly scores to assess knowledge of guidelines for prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) are scarce and have mainly evaluated nurses, but not students or physicians. Gaps between knowledge and actual clinical practice have not been sufficiently analyzed. We assessed knowledge of and adherence to guidelines for prevention of VAP among physicians, nurses, and students in adult ICUs. METHODS: All adult ICU healthcare workers were invited to complete a 20-point questionnaire. The first part assessed personal knowledge of international guidelines for prevention of VAP; the second part assessed daily clinical practice. Personal knowledge and daily practice were scored from 0 to 10 points. RESULTS: We invited 257 ICU healthcare workers to participate in the study, and 167 (65%) accepted (32/54 physicians, 108/176 nurses, and 27/27 students). The median (IQR) personal knowledge scores for physicians, nurses, and students were 6 (5-7), 5 (4-6), and 5 (4-7), respectively. The median scores for daily clinical practice for physicians and nurses were 5 (4-6) and 4 (3-5), respectively. Healthcare workers with more than 1 year of ICU experience scored significantly better in personal knowledge than those with less experience: 6 (5-7) versus 4 (3-6), P = .004. CONCLUSIONS: A simple, easy-to-complete questionnaire enabled us to rapidly evaluate personal knowledge and reported clinical practice in prevention of VAP in large teaching institutions. These scores will be used as baseline figures to assess the impact of educational and intervention campaigns.