Species and Strain Variability among Sarcina Isolates from Diverse Mammalian Hosts

Abstract

Sarcina spp. has been isolated from the gastrointestinal tracts of diverse mammalian hosts. Their presence is often associated with host health complications, as is evident from many previously published medical case reports. However, only a handful of studies have made proper identification. Most other identifications were solely based on typical Sarcina-like morphology without genotyping. Therefore, the aim of this work was culture detection and the taxonomic classification of Sarcina isolates originating from different mammalian hosts. Sarcina-like colonies were isolated and collected during cultivation analyses of animal fecal samples (n = 197) from primates, dogs, calves of domestic cattle, elephants, and rhinoceroses. The study was carried out on apparently healthy animals kept in zoos or by breeders in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Selected isolates were identified and compared using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA; Iles, pheT, pyrG, rplB, rplC, and rpsC). The results indicate the taxonomic variability of Sarcina isolates. S. ventriculi appears to be a common gut microorganism in various captive primates. In contrast, a random occurrence was also recorded in dogs. However, dog isolate N13/4e could represent the next potential novel Sarcina taxonomic unit. Also, a potentially novel Sarcina species was found in elephants, with occurrences in all tested hosts. S. maxima isolates were detected rarely, only in rhinoceroses. Although Sarcina bacteria are often linked to lethal diseases, our results indicate that Sarcina spp. appear to be a common member of the gut microbiota and seem to be an opportunistic pathogen. Further characterization and pathogenic analyses are required.

Bacterial community of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and mammals from Arauca, Colombian Orinoquia

“…The relative frequency of the genus Bartonella (Rhizobiaceae) observed in mammals aligns with the reports of this bacteria associated with the common vampire bat, D. rotundus , in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome ( Ferreira et al, 2018 ). Other bacteria genera such as Acinetobacter (Moraxellaceae), Anaplasma (Anaplasmataceae), Enterococcus (Enterococcaceae), Prevotella (Prevotellaceae), Pseudomonas (Pseudomonadaceae), Rubellimicrobium (Rhodobacteraceae), and Sarcina (Clostridiaceae) contains zoonotic pathogens that infect a wide range of wild and domestic mammal species ( Tate et al, 2013 ; Battilani et al, 2017 ; Chen et al, 2020 ; Nowakiewicz et al, 2021 ; Qi et al, 2022 ; dos Santos Costa et al, 2023 ; Makovska et al, 2023 ).…”

“…Furthermore, several species of Prevotella and Sarcina have been associated with pathologies primarily related to the digestive system of different animals, including humans, macaques, livestock, rodents, and insects ( Chen et al, 2017 , 2020 ; Dumitru et al, 2020 ; O'Hara et al, 2020 ; Owens et al, 2021 ; Betancur-Murillo et al, 2023 ; Makovska et al, 2023 ). Our study included two rodent species ( H. hydrochaeris and O. speciosus ), which are recognized reservoirs and vectors of zoonoses (at least 60 diseases; Taylor et al, 2008 ; Dahmana et al, 2020 ).…”