Use of 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing for Identification of Nonfermenting Gram-Negative Bacilli Recovered from Patients Attending a Single Cystic Fibrosis Center

During 1999, we used partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing for the prospective identification of atypical nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli isolated from patients attending our cystic fibrosis center. Of 1,093 isolates of nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli recovered from 148 patients, 46 (4.2%) gave problematic results with conventional phenotypic tests. These 46 isolates were genotypically identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19 isolates, 12 patients), Achromobacter xylosoxidans (10 isolates, 8 patients), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (9 isolates, 9 patients), Burkholderia cepacia genomovar I/III (3 isolates, 3 patients), Burkholderia vietnamiensis (1 isolate), Burkholderia gladioli (1 isolate), and Ralstonia mannitolilytica (3 isolates, 2 patients), a recently recognized species.