JCM Figure table search 04
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Shen, Z.
Right arrow Articles by Fox, J. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Shen, Z.
Right arrow Articles by Fox, J. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 2001, p. 2166-2172, Vol. 39, No. 6
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.6.2166-2172.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Coinfection of Enteric Helicobacter spp. and Campylobacter spp. in Cats

Z. Shen,1 Y. Feng,1 F. E. Dewhirst,2,3 and J. G. Fox1,*

Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139,1 and Department of Molecular Genetics, The Forsyth Institute,2 and Department of Oral Biology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine,3 Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Received 24 January 2001/Returned for modification 11 March 2001/Accepted 1 April 2001

During a 6-year period, 64 of 227 commercially reared cats had microaerobic bacteria isolated from their feces. All the isolates were initially identified as Campylobacter-like organisms based on biochemical and phenotypic characteristics. DNA extractions from 51 of these isolates were subjected to PCR using primers specific for Helicobacter spp. and Campylobacter spp. Of the isolates, 92% (47 of 51 isolates) were positive for Campylobacter spp., 41% (21 of 51 isolates) were positive for Helicobacter spp., 33% (17 of 51 isolates) were positive for both genera, 59% (30 of 51 isolates) were positive only for Campylobacter spp., and 8% (4 of 51) were positive only for Helicobacter spp. Sixteen of the 47 Campylobacter-positive cultures were positive for more than one Campylobacter spp. Based on a species-specific PCR assay, 83% of the isolates were identified as Campylobacter helveticus, 47% of the isolates were identified as Campylobacter upsaliensis, and 6% of the isolates were classified as Campylobacter jejuni. The 1.2-kb PCR products of the 16S rRNA genes of 19 Helicobacter species isolates were subjected to restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Of the five different RFLP patterns obtained, two clustered with Helicobacter ("Flexispira") taxon 8, one clustered with Helicobacter bilis, one clustered with Helicobacter canis, and the remaining pattern was closely related to a novel Helicobacter sp. strain isolated from a woodchuck. The sequence data for the 16S rRNA genes of 10 Helicobacter spp. validated the RFLP-based identification of these isolates. This study demonstrated that biochemical and phenotypic characteristics of microaerobic organisms in cat feces were insufficient to characterize mixed Helicobacter and Campylobacter infections. Molecular structure-based diagnostics using genus- and species-specific PCR, RFLP analysis, and 16S rRNA sequence analysis enabled the identification of multiple microaerobic species in individual animals. The clinical relevance of enteric Helicobacter and Campylobacter coinfection in cats will require further studies.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Bldg. 16 Rm. 825, Cambridge, MA 02139. Phone: (617) 253-1757. Fax: (617) 258-5708. E-mail: jgfox{at}mit.edu.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 2001, p. 2166-2172, Vol. 39, No. 6
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.6.2166-2172.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. Clin. Microbiol. Rev.
Clin. Vaccine Immunol. ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 2001 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.