''Providencia'' is

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

motile Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently using metabolic energy. This biological concept encompasses movement at various levels, from whole organisms to cells and subcellular components. Motility is observed in animals, mi ...

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

of the family

Morganellaceae The Morganellaceae are a family of Gram-negative bacteria that include some important human pathogens formerly classified as Enterobacteriaceae. This family is a member of the order Enterobacterales in the class Gammaproteobacteria of the phylum ...

. It was named after

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, where C. A. Stuart and colleagues studied these bacteria at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

Providencia pathogens of humans

Some species are 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 ...

s in humans. ''

Providencia stuartii ''Providencia stuartii'' (commonly ''P. stuartii''), is a Gram negative bacillus that is commonly found in soil, water, and sewage. ''P. stuartii'' is the most common of the 5 species found in the genus Providencia (bacterium), Providencia, with ...

'' can cause

urinary tract infection A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects a part of the urinary tract. Lower urinary tract infections may involve the bladder (cystitis) or urethra (urethritis) while upper urinary tract infections affect the kidney (pyel ...

s, particularly in patients with long-term indwelling

urinary catheters In urinary catheterization, a latex, polyurethane, or silicone tube known as a urinary catheter is inserted into the bladder through the urethra to allow urine to drain from the bladder for collection. It may also be used to inject liquids used ...

or extensive severe

burns Burns may refer to: Astronomy * 2708 Burns, an asteroid * Burns (crater), on Mercury People * Burns (surname), list of people and characters named Burns ** Burns (musician), Scottish record producer Places in the United States * Burns, ...

. Alternatively, ''

Providencia rettgeri ''Providencia rettgeri'' (commonly ''P. rettgeri''), is a Gram negative bacterium that is commonly found in both water and land environments. ''P. rettgeri'' is in the genus Providencia (bacterium), Providencia, along with ''Providencia stuartii ...

'' is a common cause of traveller's diarrhoea.

Providencia pathogens in insects

Many strains have been isolated from the

haemolymph Hemolymph, or haemolymph, is a fluid, similar to the blood in invertebrates, that circulates in the inside of the arthropod's body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which hemolymph ce ...

of ''

Drosophila melanogaster ''Drosophila melanogaster'' is a species of fly (an insect of the Order (biology), order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly", "pomace fly" ...

'' fruit flies. These strains display different levels of virulence. For example '' Providencia sneebia'' is highly virulent, and infection always results in fly mortality. Alternatively, '' P. rettgeri'' displays an intermediate virulence wherein some individuals survive infection, while others perish. The susceptibility to ''P. rettgeri'' is strongly tied to an

allele An allele is a variant of the sequence of nucleotides at a particular location, or Locus (genetics), locus, on a DNA molecule. Alleles can differ at a single position through Single-nucleotide polymorphism, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), ...

of the

antimicrobial peptide Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), also called host defence peptides (HDPs) are part of the innate immune response found among all classes of life. Fundamental differences exist between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells that may represent targets for ...

gene

Diptericin Diptericin is a 9 kDa antimicrobial peptide (AMP) of flies first isolated from the blowfly '' Phormia terranova''. It is primarily active against Gram-negative bacteria, disrupting bacterial membrane integrity. The structure of this protein incl ...

. Surprisingly, the fly's defence against ''P. rettgeri'' seems to rely almost exclusively on Diptericin, as deletion of Diptericin leads to complete mortality. Meanwhile deletion of multiple other antimicrobial peptides has no effect on ''P. rettgeri'' virulence. Yet defence against ''P. burhodogranariea'' is determined by multiple antimicrobial peptides beyond just Diptericin. Why Diptericin is so specifically important in defence against one species of Providencia is not clear, but could yield insight into how bacterial species evolve resistance or susceptibility to antimicrobial compounds.

Trivia

* ''Providencia burhodogranariea'' is named after the "big red barn" in which conversations were held around its discovery. * Some strains are sensitive to

ampicillin Ampicillin is an antibiotic belonging to the aminopenicillin class of the penicillin family. The drug is used to prevent and treat several bacterial infections, such as respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, meningitis, s ...

References

Bacteria genera {{Enterobacterales-stub