Evaluation of bacterial isolates from cystic fibrosis patients

Abstract

Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Burkholderia cepacia are bacterias that can cause infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the colonial and cellular morphology of clinical isolates that were collected from northeastern Oklahoma CF patients. Colonial and cellular morphology were assessed by conventional methods. The P. aeruginosa isolates were similar to colorless and mucoid colonies. One S. aureus isolate was slightly mucoid while the other was butyrous. The B. cepacia isolates were the most diverse with 53% of the isolates being butyrous while 47% were mucoid. Additionally, 75% of the isolates were colorless and 25% of the isolates were yellow in color. This data supports the conclusion that the B. cepacia isolates had the most diverse colonial morphology while P. aeruginosa and S. aureus isolates had similar morphology among their species.