Hey microorganism friends!! I want to start off by introducing myself. My name is Legionella pneumophila. I am a gram- negative, non-encapsulated, aerobic bacillus with a single polar flagellum often characterized as being a coccobacillus. I love being surrounded by a gram negative cell wall and my pili can sometimes be identified! My outer-membrane is comprised of a lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is fully sequenced and found to have several novel features which have pathophysiologic consequence. I am non-fermentative, nor pigmented nor auto-fluorescent. I also oxidase and I’m catalase positive and produce beta-lactamase. I have a colony morphology that is gray-white with a textured, cut-glass appearance which makes me require cysteine iron to thrive. I do not like to grow on common media. Being who I am, “Legionella pneumophila” my growth, respiration and survival are at high temperatures. My optimum temperature for multiplication strains in culture media is around 37 degrees C. Thus, I retained my metabolic activity beyond the maximum temperature for cell multiplication. My metabolism is the utilization of amino acids and other compounds as energy sources. Some sources as carbon and energy were examined. I love to live in aquatic environments all over the globe. In my natural environment I’m an intracellular parasite and pathogen that co-evolved with fresh water protozoa. Humans better be careful because when I’m inhaled, i can replicate within alveolar macrophages and cause a severe pneumonia; “Legionnaires Disease”. My virulence factors are the causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease. Its a facultative intracellular bacterium, which in the course of human infection multiplies in lung macrophages predominantly manifesting as an pneumonia. One of my favorite family members is my cousin “Legionella”. We get along so great when were together that we share an awesome bond! The first discovery of bacteria from my cousin Legionella was in 1976 when an outbreak of pneumonia at an American Legion convention led to 29 deaths. The causative agent, known as me; Legionella pneumophila, had to be isolated and given my own genus. I’m classified in many different ways such as my Domain being bacteria, my kingdom being Eubacteria, my Class being Gamma Proteobacteria, my order being Legionellales, and my Species being Legionella pneumophila. Overall i feel like I’m a pretty cool microorganism.. but watch out for me !!
