Isolation and Characterization of Helicobacter Species from the Stomach of the House Musk Shrew ( Suncus murinus ) with Chronic Gastritis

Abstract

A Gram-negative, motile bacterium with bipolar sheathed flagella (one at each end) was isolated from the stomach of house musk shrews (Suncus murinus) with chronic gastritis. The isolates grew at 37 degrees C under microaerophilic conditions, but not under aerobic conditions; rapidly hydrolyzed urea; were catalase, oxidase, alkaline phosphatase, and arginine aminopeptidase positive; reduced nitrate to nitrite; and were resistant to cephalothin and nalidixic acid, but sensitive to tetracycline, erythromycin, and chloramphenicol. This bacterium was found on gastric epithelial cells by electron microscopy. In addition, a coccoid form of the bacteria was found in vacuoles formed in the epithelial cells of some of the house musk shrews tested. These results, including 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strongly suggested that this bacterium should be classified as a novel Helicobacter species. It is proposed that this bacterium should be called "Helicobacter suncus."

Population Abundance of Potentially Pathogenic Organisms in Intestinal Microbiome of Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) Shown with 16S rRNA Gene-Based Microbial Community Analysis

“…The gene sequences of H. suncus and H. pametensis , which were isolated from the house musk shrews [15], wild birds, and a domestic swine [16], were commonly found among the intestinal microbiotas of three crows. However, it has not been well investigated whether these bacteria possess pathogenicity as observed in H. pylori .…”

The Family Helicobacteraceae

“…MIT 99-5501 AF333338 ''Helicobacter magdeburgensis'' Mice HM007-1 EF990624 Traverso et al 2010 ''Helicobacter muricola'' Mice w-06 AF264783 Won et al 2002 ''Helicobacter suncus'' Musk Shrews Kaz-1 AB006147 Goto et al 1998 ''Helicobacter westmeadii'' Human Helicobacter sp. U44756 Trivett Moore et al 1997 ''Helicobacter winghamensis'' Human NLEP 97-1090 AF246984 Melito et al 2001 The Family Helicobacteraceae…”

“…''Helicobacter suncus'' was isolated from the gastric mucosa of house musk shrews (Suncus murinis) with gastritis (Goto et al 1998). It is a curved rod 0.5 mm in width and 3.55 mm in length.…”

Helicobacter - An Emerging New Zoonotic Pathogen

“…All known Helicobacters live in human and animal hosts, where colonization occurs primarily in the gastrointestinal tract. The type species, H. pylori, was isolated from the stomach of humans and has been associated with a variety of gastric anomalies including gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric carcinoma, and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoma (Parsonnet, 1998 (Goto et al, 2000).…”