Campylobacter jejuni is the most frequent cause of bacterial gastrointestinal food-borne infection worldwide. The transmission of Campylobacter and Arcobacter-like species is often made possible by their ability to adhere to various abiotic surfaces. This study is focused on monitoring the biofilm ability of 69 strains of Campylobacter spp. and lesser described species of the Arcobacteraceae family isolated from food, water, and clinical samples within the Czech Republic. Biofilm formation was monitored and evaluated under an aerobic/microaerophilic atmosphere after cultivation for 24 or 72 h depending on the surface material. An overall higher adhesion ability was observed in arcobacters. A chi-squared test showed no association between the origin of the strains and biofilm activity (p > 0.05). Arcobacter-like species are able to form biofilms under microaerophilic and aerobic conditions; however, they prefer microaerophilic environments. Biofilm formation has already been demonstrated at refrigerator temperatures (5 °C). Arcobacters also showed higher biofilm formation ability at the temperature of 30 °C. This is in contrast to Campylobacter jejuni NP 2896, which showed higher biofilm formation ability at temperatures of 5-30 °C. Overall, the results demonstrated the biofilm formation ability of many strains, which poses a considerable risk to the food industry, medical practice, and human health.

• Keywords
• Aliarcobacter spp., Arcobacter-like, Campylobacter spp., abiotic surfaces, biofilm formation, food processing materials, temperature condition,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Bacteria of the Arcobacter (A.) genus, originating mainly from food and water, are dreaded germs for humans as well as animals. However, the virulence of these bacteria has not been fully elucidated yet. This study looked at the occurrence of eight virulence-associated factors (ciaB, cj1349, pldA, irgA, hecA, tlyA, mviN, hecB) in a total of 80 isolates of Arcobacter butzleri and 22 isolates of A. cryaerophilus. The isolates were derived from food, water, and clinical samples. A polymerase chain reaction using specific primers was used to detect these virulence-associated genes. The presence of all genes in the isolates of A. butzleri (98.8% ciaB, 95.0% cj1349, 98.8% pldA, 22.5% irgA, 31.3% hecA, 95.0% tlyA, 97.5% mviN, 38.8% hecB) and A. cryaerophilus (95.5% ciaB, 0.0% cj1349, 9.1% pldA, 0.0% irgA, 0.0% hecA, 31.8% tlyA, 90.9% mviN, 0.0% hecB) was monitored. Among the tested isolates, there were 13 isolates (12.7%) of A. butzleri, in which the presence of all eight virulence-associated genes was recorded in the genome. In contrast, in one A. cryaerophilus strain, none of the observed genes were detected. The presence of ciaB and mviN genes was significantly more frequent in A. cryaerophilus isolates than other genes (P < 0.05). In general, more virulence-associated genes have been detected in A. butzleri isolates compared to A. cryaerophilus. The most common gene combination (ciaB, cj1349, pldA, tlyA, mviN) was detected in case of 39 isolates. In 50.0% of A. butzleri isolates derived from clinical samples, all eight virulence-associated genes were significantly more frequently detected (P < 0.05). The tlyA gene occurred significantly more frequent in A. butzleri isolates from meat and water samples and irgA and hecB genes in clinical samples. Therefore, our study provides information about occurrence of virulence-associated genes in genome of Arcobacter isolates. These findings could be hazardous to human health, because the presence of virulence-associated genes is the assumption for potential dangerousness of these bacteria. Our results indicate high incidence of virulence-associated genes in Arcobacter genomes and hence potentially pathogenic properties of the studied strains.

• MeSH
• Arcobacter genetics   isolation & purification   pathogenicity   MeSH
• Genes, Bacterial genetics   MeSH
• Virulence Factors genetics   MeSH
• Genetic Variation MeSH
• Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections microbiology   MeSH
• Water Microbiology * MeSH
• Food Microbiology * MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Virulence Factors MeSH

Water plays an important role in the transmission of Arcobacter spp. to animals and humans. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize Arcobacter spp. from 115 different water samples (66 sewage, 25 rivers, 16 spring water, and 8 drinking water) in Izmir, Turkey. In total, 41 samples (35.7 %) were found positive for Arcobacter spp. by the genus-specific PCR. Arcobacter butzleri was detected in 39 out of 115 samples (33.9 %) including 24 sewage, 13 rivers, and 2 spring water. The remaining Arcobacter spp. (n = 2) isolates could not be identified by m-PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Based on the phenotypic characterization, most of the Arcobacter species (87.8 %) indicated weak catalase activity. In addition, there were differences in phenotypic patterns among isolated species during growth at 37 °C under microaerobic and aerobic conditions, in the presence of 2 % (39/41) and 3.5 % (32/41) NaCl and 0.04 % TTC (39/41) and on MacConkey agar (38/41). The results of this study indicated that environmental water samples are common sources for Arcobacter spp. Therefore, effective control measures should be taken to protect human health.

• MeSH
• Aerobiosis MeSH
• Arcobacter classification   genetics   growth & development   isolation & purification   MeSH
• Sodium Chloride metabolism   MeSH
• DNA, Bacterial chemistry   genetics   MeSH
• Culture Media chemistry   MeSH
• Water Microbiology * MeSH
• DNA, Ribosomal chemistry   genetics   MeSH
• RNA, Ribosomal, 16S genetics   MeSH
• Sequence Analysis, DNA MeSH
• Bacterial Typing Techniques MeSH
• Temperature MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Turkey MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Sodium Chloride MeSH
• DNA, Bacterial MeSH
• Culture Media MeSH
• DNA, Ribosomal MeSH
• RNA, Ribosomal, 16S MeSH