Scientific Publications by FDA Staff

J Clin Microbiol 2017 Dec 26;56(1):e01419-17

The complexities of Nocardia taxonomy and identification.

Conville PS, Brown-Elliott BA, Smith T, Zelazny AM

Nocardia species are a complex group of organisms considered to belong to the aerobic actinomycetes. Of the validly described species, many have been implicated as the cause of serious human infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. The genus has a complicated taxonomic history; this is especially true for Nocardia asteroides, the type species of the genus and previously the most frequently reported nocardial taxon from human specimens. We provide background on the current taxonomy of Nocardia with a focus on clinically relevant species and discuss the currently available methods used to accurately identify isolates to the species, complex or group level.