Background. Recurrent bacterial infections play a key role in the pathogenesis of bronchiectasis, but conventional microbiologic\r\nmethods may fail to identify pathogens in many cases. We characterized and compared the pulmonary bacterial communities\r\nof cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-CF bronchiectasis patients using a culture-independent molecular approach. Methods. Bacterial\r\n16S rRNA gene libraries were constructed from lung tissue of 10 non-CF bronchiectasis and 21 CF patients, followed by DNA\r\nsequencing of isolates from each library. Community characteristics were analyzed and compared between the two groups. Results.\r\nA wide range of bacterial diversity was detected in both groups, with between 1 and 21 bacterial taxa found in each patient.\r\nPseudomonas was the most common genus in both groups, comprising 49% of sequences detected and dominating numerically in\r\n13 patients. Although Pseudomonas appeared to be dominant more often in CF patients than in non-CF patients, analysis of entire\r\nbacterial communities did not identify significant differences between these two groups. Conclusions. Our data indicate significant\r\ndiversity in the pulmonary bacterial community of both CF and non-CF bronchiectasis patients and suggest that this community\r\nis similar in surgically resected lungs of CF and non-CF bronchiectasis patients.
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