''Methylobacterium mesophilicum'' is a

Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that, unlike gram-positive bacteria, do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. Their defining characteristic is that their cell envelope consists ...

, soil-dwelling

bacterium Bacteria (; : 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 among the ...

, reported to be an opportunistic

pathogen In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of d ...

in immunocomprimised patients. '' Methylobacteria'' are typically slow-growing and produce pink-pigmented colonies. Pink pigmentation is the primary diagnostic characteristic used in the initial isolation of ''Methylobacteria''. With extended incubation, pink colonies often take on a

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

hue. ''M. mesophilicum'' and ''M. zatmanii'' are the two most commonly reported species isolated in clinical samples. Methylobacteria have been reported to exhibit resistance to chlorination and have been isolated from tap water in various clinical settings including: an investigation of a pseudo-outbreak, water from dental units, and blood purification units.

Tap water Tap water (also known as running water, piped water or municipal water) is water supplied through a Tap (valve), tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used f ...

is a suspected mode of transmission. The presence of these organisms in tap water prompted suggestions that it may be helpful to monitor these organisms in water distribution systems in

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

units for immunocompromised patients.

References

External links

Type strain of ''Methylobacterium mesophilicum'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Hyphomicrobiales Bacteria described in 1983 Pathogenic bacteria {{Hyphomicrobiales-stub