No abstract

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.

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.

Bacteria of the genus Arcobacter are today feared pathogens and represent a true threat, particularly in the form of alimentary infections. This study presents information on the inhibitory concentrations of selected disinfectant agents frequently applied in the Czech Republic, and particularly in the food industry for sanitation. The results of the study indicate that total inactivation of tested arcobacters are mostly at concentration of 5.0-15.0% in case of Desprej-disinfectant, 10.0-15.0% in case of Incidur-disinfectant, respectively 1.0-15.0% Guaa Profi Pool-disinfectant. Nevertheless, it has been confirmed that there is a real risk for secondary resistance of arcobacters to emerge in relation to certain decontaminants. Through repeated passages of arcobacters in a medium with low concentration of the disinfectant, we increased their primary resistance to the Incidur disinfectant to 1.5-3.5x (depending on species or origin). In the case of Desprej, the primary resistance of arcobacters to the substance was increased to even 1.5-5x. The emergence of resistance to antimicrobial substances is a worldwide problem. Potential acquisition of resistance (secondary resistance) in case of Arcobacter spp. was confirmed in this study for the first time in the Czech Republic.

This study focuses on detecting biofilm and planktonic bacterial cells of the genera Arcobacter and Campylobacter. This study is, to our knowledge, the first study deals with application of FISH procedure to detect biofilm formation on stainless steel coupons of Arcobacter-isolates from real-world environments. These bacteria can cause a lot of diseases. Especially, in the last decade, arcobacters have been increasingly isolated from feces of clinically healthy and ill animals, foods of animal origin and various types of water. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to detect biofilm and planktonic cells of selected microorganisms. This method was optimized and subsequently applied to biofilm samples prepared on stainless steel coupons. The study results indicate that fluorescence in situ hybridization is suitable for detecting biofilm and planktonic cells of the studied bacteria.