Staphylococcus lugdunensis

Staphylococcus lugdunensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Bacteria
Phylum:	Firmicutes
Class:	Cocci
Order:	Bacillales
Family:	Staphylococcaceae
Genus:	Staphylococcus
Species:	S. lugdunensis
Binomial name
Staphylococcus lugdunensis Freney et al. 1988

Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a coagulase-negative member of the genus Staphylococcus, consisting of Gram-positive bacteria with spherical cells that appear in clusters.^{[citation needed]}

History

It was first described in 1988 after being differentiated through DNA analysis. Its name comes from Lugdunum, the Latin name for Lyon, France, where the organism was first isolated.

Description

Colonies of S. lugdunensis are usually hemolytic, sticky, yellow or tan and about 2–4 mm in diameter after a 48-hour incubation. They also can have a characteristic sweet, hay-like odor.^{[citation needed]}

S. lugdunensis may produce a bound coagulase (that is, the enzyme is bound to the cells), a property it shares with S. aureus, but unlike S. aureus, it does not produce a free coagulase. In the laboratory, it can give a positive slide-coagulase test but a negative tube-coagulase test.

S. lugdunensis is fairly easy to identify because, unlike the great majority of staphylococci, it decarboxylates ornithine and is positive for pyrrolidonyl arylamidase.^{[citation needed]}

In the past, it was frequently misidentified as S. hominis, S. aureus or other species.

It occurs as a commensal on human skin, but has been recorded as a cause of serious human infections, such as osteomyelitis, septicaemia, and aggressive endocarditis.

It is generally susceptible to antistaphylococcal antibiotics, but increasing penicillin resistance has been reported.