Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Apulia and Basilicata, Foggia, Via Manfredonia 20, 71122, Foggia, Italy.
Department of Science of Agriculture, Food and Environment (SAFE), University of Foggia, Via Napoli 25, 71122, Foggia, Italy.
Food Microbiol. 2020 Aug;89:103403. doi: 10.1016/j.fm.2019.103403. Epub 2019 Dec 28.
Arcobacter butzleri is a zoonotic foodborne pathogen able to cause enteric and extraintestinal diseases. Its occurrence in foodstuff is well recognized worldwide but data on its presence in foods from Southern Italy are scarce. In this study the results on the occurrence and genotyping of Arcobacter spp. in bulk milk samples collected in Southern Italy are reported. Out of 484 samples, 64 (13.2%) resulted positive for the presence of Arcobacter spp. Using Real Time PCR but as few as 31.2% of these samples turned out as positive by using the cultural method, showing an overall prevalence of 4.1%. All isolates were identified as A. cryaerophilus using the biochemical identification whilst the sequencing of the atpA gene revealed that all the isolates were A. butzleri. Among the confirmed isolates, 16 different Sequence Types (ST) were identified using the Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST), 14 (87.5%) of which were previously unreported. Our survey reveals the presence of A. butzleri in bulk tank milk from Southern Italy and highlights the discrepancy between the two approaches used both for the detection (i.e., real time PCR vs cultural method) and the identification (i.e., biochemical test vs aptA sequencing) of Arcobacter spp In addition, a large genetic diversity among the isolates was detected and this makes the identification of source of the infections very challenging in outbreaks investigation.
空弯曲杆菌是一种人畜共患病食源性病原体，能够引起肠道和肠道外疾病。其在食品中的存在已在全球范围内得到广泛认可，但有关来自意大利南部食品中存在空弯曲杆菌的数据却很少。本研究报告了在意大利南部采集的散装奶样中弯曲杆菌属的发生和基因分型情况。在 484 份样本中，有 64 份（13.2%）样本检测出弯曲杆菌属呈阳性。使用实时 PCR 检测，仅有 31.2%的样本呈阳性，而使用培养方法检测，总体阳性率为 4.1%。所有分离株均通过生化鉴定鉴定为嗜水气单胞菌，而 atpA 基因的测序结果表明所有分离株均为空弯曲杆菌。在确认的分离株中，使用多位点序列分型（MLST）鉴定出 16 种不同的序列型（ST），其中 14 种（87.5%）为以前未报告的序列型。我们的调查显示，意大利南部散装奶中存在空弯曲杆菌，并且两种方法在检测（即实时 PCR 与培养方法）和鉴定（即生化试验与 aptA 测序）弯曲杆菌属时都存在差异。此外，还检测到分离株之间存在很大的遗传多样性，这使得在暴发调查中确定感染源变得非常具有挑战性。
