The Online Meeting was led by Dr. Marcelo Pillonetto, a pharmacist and microbiologist, Full Professor at PUCPR and microbiologist at LACEN-PR, who participated in the description of Phytobacter ursingii and the first report of human infection caused by Phytobacter diazotrophicus.
The lecture addressed the main challenges in the identification of Phytobacter, including the clinical and epidemiological context, taxonomic complexity, morphological and biochemical profile, limitations of automated methods, and antimicrobial resistance.
Participants were trained to critically evaluate laboratory results, identify the need for complementary tests, and interpret antibiograms, strengthening the reliability of reports and supporting safe decision-making in routine microbiology practice.
Questions & Answers
The following questions were not addressed during the Online Meeting.
What is the name of the database that can be used with Bruker’s MALDI-TOF equipment? Could you please specify it?
The database that can be used with Bruker’s MALDI-TOF equipment (MALDI Biotyper) is the MBT Compass Reference Library. The documentation specifies versions of this library used for identification, such as MBT-BDAL-10833 and the MBT-BDAL-12.0 MSP library.
How can we access the software that allows the use of test results from systems such as Vitek, Phoenix, MicroScan, among others, for the identification of Phytobacter?
Access to identification systems (software) with up-to-date databases that allow the use of results from automated biochemical testing systems (such as Vitek, Phoenix, and MicroScan) as well as manual tests for identifying Phytobacter can be obtained through Enteroplus (accessible at https://enteroplus.app.achillescdss.com.br/, available free of charge for a limited time) and the BacDive API Test Finder (accessible at https://bacdive.dsmz.de/api-test-finder, available free of charge, but containing only results from reference strains). For proper identification in these software platforms, the results from these routine systems should be complemented with basic tests such as motility and indole, which are highly discriminatory.
