Further Studies on Arcanobacterium phocisimile: a Novel Species of Genus Arcanobacterium.

Osama Sammra,Ellen Prenger-Berninghoff,Markus Timke,Amir Abdulmawjood,Christoph Lämmler,Ursula Siebert,Jörg Alber,Samy Nagib,Markus Kostrzewa,Anna Balbutskaya,Muaz Hijazin

doi:10.1155/2014/923592

Abstract

Arcanobacterium phocisimile, a newly described species with the type strain A. phocisimile 2698T isolated from a vaginal swab of a harbour seal and four additional A. phocisimile strains also isolated from four harbour seals could reliably be identified by phenotypic properties, by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), and by sequencing the genomic targets 16S rDNA and 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region and the genes rpoB and gap. The A. phocisimile strains investigated in the present study were isolated together with several other bacterial species indicating that the pathogenic importance of A. phocisimile remains unclear. However, the detection of peptidic spectra by MALDI-TOF MS and the presented phenotypic and genotypic approach might help to identify A. phocisimile in future.

Highlights

Genus Arcanobacterium comprises the species Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, Arcanobacterium hippocoleae, Arcanobacterium pluranimalium, and Arcanobacterium phocae [1]
Arcanobacterium phocisimile, a newly described species with the type strain A. phocisimile 2698T isolated from a vaginal swab of a harbour seal and four additional A. phocisimile strains isolated from four harbour seals could reliably be identified by phenotypic properties, by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), and by sequencing the genomic targets 16S rDNA and 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region and the genes rpoB and gap
All three newly investigated A. phocisimile strains were initially characterized phenotypically and by 16S rDNA sequencing [3, 4]. Both A. phocisimile strains previously mentioned in the species description [3] and the three A. phocisimile strains of the present study were further analysed by MALDI-TOF MS [5] and genotypically by amplification and sequencing of the previously described molecular target 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region (ISR) and the genes rpoB and gap [4, 6, 7]

Summary

Introduction

Genus Arcanobacterium comprises the species Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, Arcanobacterium hippocoleae, Arcanobacterium pluranimalium, and Arcanobacterium phocae [1]. More recently A. canis and A. phocisimile were described as novel species of this genus [2, 3]. Arcanobacterium pyogenes together with Arcanobacterium bernardiae, Arcanobacterium bonasi, and Arcanobacterium bialowiezense was reclassified to the newly described species Trueperella [1]. The original description of A. phocisimile was based on physiological and biochemical characteristics, chemotaxonomic analysis, and 16S rDNA sequencing results of two strains isolated with several other bacterial species from a vaginal swab and an anal swab of two free living harbour seals of the German North Sea [3]. In the present study both initially described A. phocisimile strains and three additional strains obtained from three harbour seals were identified and further characterized phenotypically by MALDI-TOF MS analysis and genotypically by amplification and sequencing of various molecular targets

Materials and Methods

Results and Discussion

Interpretive Summary

Conflict of Interests