PMC8080455_01
Gram staining of the aortic valve showing the curved (arrow 1) and spiral (arrow 2) shapes of Thalassospira sp. (panel A) and aspects of the colonies after 48 -h incubation on COH agar medium (panel B).
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The Gram stain examination of the aortic valve revealed a high number of Gram-negative, spiral and curved-shaped bacilli (Fig. 1, panel A). In 48 h, the culture of the valve sample on Columbia agar supplemented with 5% horse blood (COH, bioMerieux, Marcy-l'Etoile, France) under aerobic conditions yielded mucoid, translucent colonies (Fig. 1, panel B).