TY - JOUR
T1 - If You're Not Confused, You're Not Paying Attention
T2 - Ochrobactrum Is Not Brucella
AU - Moreno, Edgardo
AU - Middlebrook, Earl A.
AU - Altamirano-Silva, Pamela
AU - Al Dahouk, Sascha
AU - Araj, George F.
AU - Arce-Gorvel, Vilma
AU - Arenas-Gamboa, Ángela
AU - Ariza, Javier
AU - Barquero-Calvo, Elías
AU - Battelli, Giorgio
AU - Bertu, Wilson J.
AU - María Blasco, José
AU - Bosilkovski, Mile
AU - Cadmus, Simeon
AU - Caswell, Clayton C.
AU - Celli, Jean
AU - Chacón-Díaz, Carlos
AU - Chaves-Olarte, Esteban
AU - Comerci, Diego J.
AU - Conde-Álvarez, Raquel
AU - Cook, Elizabeth
AU - Cravero, Silvio
AU - Dadar, Maryam
AU - De Boelle, Xavier
AU - De Massis, Fabrizio
AU - Díaz, Ramón
AU - Escobar, Gabriela I.
AU - Fernández-Lago, Luis
AU - Ficht, Thomas A.
AU - Foster, Jeffrey T.
AU - Garin-Bastuji, Bruno
AU - Godfroid, Jacques
AU - Gorvel, Jean Pierre
AU - Güler, Leyla
AU - Erdenliǧ-Gürbilek, Sevil
AU - Gusi, Amayel M.
AU - Guzmán-Verri, Caterina
AU - Hai, Jiang
AU - Hernández-Mora, Gabriela
AU - Iriarte, Maite
AU - Jacob, Nestor R.
AU - Keriel, Anne
AU - Khames, Maamar
AU - Köhler, Stephan
AU - Letesson, Jean Jacques
AU - Loperena-Barber, Maite
AU - López-Goñi, Ignacio
AU - McGiven, John
AU - Melzer, Falk
AU - Mora-Cartin, Ricardo
AU - Moran-Gilad, Jacob
AU - Muñoz, Pilar M.
AU - Neubauer, Heinrich
AU - O'Callaghan, David
AU - Ocholi, Reuben
AU - Oñate, Ángel
AU - Pandey, Piyush
AU - Pappas, Georgios
AU - Pembroke, J. Tony
AU - Roop, Martin
AU - Ruiz-Villalonos, Nazaret
AU - Ryan, Michael P.
AU - Salcedo, Suzana P.
AU - Salvador-Bescós, Miriam
AU - Sangari, Félix J.
AU - De Lima Santos, Renato
AU - Seimenis, Aristarchos
AU - Splitter, Gary
AU - Suárez-Esquivel, Marcela
AU - Tabbaa, Darem
AU - Trangoni, Marcos David
AU - Tsolis, Renee M.
AU - Vizcaíno, Nieves
AU - Wareth, Gamal
AU - Welburn, Susan C.
AU - Whatmore, Adrian
AU - Zúñiga-Ripa, Amaia
AU - Moriyón, Ignacio
N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2023 American Society for Microbiology.
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - Bacteria of the genus Brucella are facultative intracellular parasites that cause brucellosis, a severe animal and human disease. Recently, a group of taxonomists merged the brucellae with the primarily free-living, phylogenetically related Ochrobactrum spp. in the genus Brucella. This change, founded only on global genomic analysis and the fortuitous isolation of some opportunistic Ochrobactrum spp. from medically compromised patients, has been automatically included in culture collections and databases. We argue that clinical and environmental microbiologists should not accept this nomenclature, and we advise against its use because (i) it was presented without in-depth phylogenetic analyses and did not consider alternative taxonomic solutions; (ii) it was launched without the input of experts in brucellosis or Ochrobactrum; (iii) it applies a non-consensus genus concept that disregards taxonomically relevant differences in structure, physiology, population structure, core-pangenome assemblies, genome structure, genomic traits, clinical features, treatment, prevention, diagnosis, genus description rules, and, above all, pathogenicity; and (iv) placing these two bacterial groups in the same genus creates risks for veterinarians, medical doctors, clinical laboratories, health authorities, and legislators who deal with brucellosis, a disease that is particularly relevant in low- and middle-income countries. Based on all this information, we urge microbiologists, bacterial collections, genomic databases, journals, and public health boards to keep the Brucella and Ochrobactrum genera separate to avoid further bewilderment and harm.
AB - Bacteria of the genus Brucella are facultative intracellular parasites that cause brucellosis, a severe animal and human disease. Recently, a group of taxonomists merged the brucellae with the primarily free-living, phylogenetically related Ochrobactrum spp. in the genus Brucella. This change, founded only on global genomic analysis and the fortuitous isolation of some opportunistic Ochrobactrum spp. from medically compromised patients, has been automatically included in culture collections and databases. We argue that clinical and environmental microbiologists should not accept this nomenclature, and we advise against its use because (i) it was presented without in-depth phylogenetic analyses and did not consider alternative taxonomic solutions; (ii) it was launched without the input of experts in brucellosis or Ochrobactrum; (iii) it applies a non-consensus genus concept that disregards taxonomically relevant differences in structure, physiology, population structure, core-pangenome assemblies, genome structure, genomic traits, clinical features, treatment, prevention, diagnosis, genus description rules, and, above all, pathogenicity; and (iv) placing these two bacterial groups in the same genus creates risks for veterinarians, medical doctors, clinical laboratories, health authorities, and legislators who deal with brucellosis, a disease that is particularly relevant in low- and middle-income countries. Based on all this information, we urge microbiologists, bacterial collections, genomic databases, journals, and public health boards to keep the Brucella and Ochrobactrum genera separate to avoid further bewilderment and harm.
KW - Brucella
KW - Ochrobactrum
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85168781271&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1128/jcm.00438-23
DO - 10.1128/jcm.00438-23
M3 - Review article
C2 - 37395662
SN - 0095-1137
VL - 61
JO - Journal of clinical microbiology
JF - Journal of clinical microbiology
IS - 8
ER -