Nickel-resistant bacteria isolated in human microbiome.

Nickel-resistant bacteria have been isolated so far only in contaminated soils and wastewaters polluted with different industrial sources. The aim of our study was to determine if nickel-resistant bacteria could also be isolated from human samples. In this brief communication, we describe how we were able to isolate human bacterial strains that grew without oxygen and in the presence of high concentrations of nickel.

Questions on unusual Mimivirus-like structures observed in human cells.

Mimiviruses or giant viruses that infect amoebas have the ability to retain the Gram stain, which is usually used to colour bacteria. There is some evidence suggesting that Mimiviruses can also infect human cells. Guided by these premises, we performed a routine Gram stain on a variety of human specimens to see if we could detect the same Gram positive blue granules that identify Mimiviruses in the amoebas.