Detection and Characterization of Arcobacter Species from Milk and Milk Products Procured from Anand City, Gujarat (India).

Abstract

Recent identification of Arcobacter spp. from human cases has raised the concern about prevalence of Arcobacter in food of animal origin and characterization of virulence potential. This study was undertaken to investigate the presence of Arcobacter spp. in milk and milk products and characterization by 16S rRNA sequencing. A total of 120 milk samples (50 cow and 70 buffalo milk) and 20 milk products (10 Paneer and 10 Cheese) were collected from the different collection points in Anand city. The samples were processed by microbiological culture and further confirmed by species specific PCR with reported primers. Arcobacter spp. were detected in 24 (20%) raw milk samples whereas none of the milk product were found positive. Among 120 raw milk samples 18 (15%) and 6 (5%) were positive for Arcobacter butzleri and A. cryaerophilus, respectively. A. butzleri was significantly predominant in cow milk (22%) than buffalo milk (10%). Phylogenetic study of 16S rRNA sequences of A. cryaerophilus revealed high variability and our isolate find 98% similarity with representative A. cryaerophilus sequence (Accession No.: U34387.1). The presence of Arcobacter in milk confirms that raw milk consumption is a significant risk factor for human beings and it needs to explore the virulence potential of this emerging pathogen.