Campylobacter ureolyticus.txt

author: P. Vandamme1, L. Debruyne1, E. De Brandt1 and E. Falsen
year: 2010
title: Reclassification of Bacteroides ureolyticus as Campylobacter ureolyticus comb. nov., and emended description of the genus Campylobacter
genus name: Campylobacter unknown, unknown
species name: ureolyticus unknown, unknown
morphology: Cells are 0.5 μm in diameter and 1.5–4 μm long. Non-motile. Filaments exceeding 20 μm in length may occur. Cells of some strains have polar tufts of long pili in electron micrographs and exhibit ‘twitching’ motility. The pili sometimes form a bundle and may be mistaken for flagella with light microscopy. Translucent colonies are produced on blood agar bases. Different colony types are observed: small pinpoint colonies, 1 mm in diameter, or spreading colonies up to 5 mm in diameter. Agar pitting is medium dependent but most (90 %) strains exhibit this trait after three days of anaerobic growth on 5 % blood agar. Optimal growth in hydrogen-enriched microaerobic conditions. Does not grow microaerobically on common agar bases in an atmosphere without hydrogen. Will not grow in air, in a CO2-enriched atmosphere, or in an atmosphere containing 5 % O2, 10 % CO2 and 85 % N2 on common agar bases. Anaerobic growth occurs with formate and fumarate in the medium. Fumarate is reduced to succinate; fumarate, nitrate and nitrite serve as electron acceptors. Grows at 30 and 37 °C, but not at 25 °C; strain-dependent growth at 42 °C. Grows on media containing 0.1 % trimethylamine-N-oxide, 1 % glycine, 0.05 % sodium fluoride, 0.032 % methyl orange or 2–4 % NaCl; no growth in the presence of 1.5–2 % bile, 0.04 % 2,3,5-triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride or 0.05 % basic fuchsin; strain-dependent growth in the presence of 1 % bile, 0.1 % potassium permanganate, 0.02 % sodium arsenite, 0.02 % safranine, 0.0005 % crystal violet or 0.01 % janus green. Most strains grow on nutrient agar and buffered charcoal yeast medium; growth on Campylobacter charcoal deoxycholate medium, Campylobacter minimal medium and MacConkey agar is strain-dependent. Oxidase- and urease-activity is present, but no hydrolysis of hippurate, DNase activity, alkaline phosphatase activity, reduction of triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride, or production of hydrogen sulphide in triple-sugar iron medium. Gelatinase activity is present (Jackson & Goodman, 1978). Nitrate is reduced, but not selenite. No pigment production. Alpha-haemolysis and catalase activity of indoxyl acetase are strain-dependent. No hydrolysis of casein or growth on casein medium when performed as described by Cowan (1974); casein hydrolysis is weak (Jackson & Goodman, 1978), as described by Jackson et al. (1971), but strain-dependent as described by Taylor & Owen (1984). As with other preferentially anaerobic species of the genus Campylobacter, strains are susceptible to a range of antibiotics including cephalothin (32 mg l−1), nalidixic acid (32 mg l−1), carbenicillin (32 mg l−1), cefoperazone (64 mg l−1) and 5-fluorouracil (100 U l−1). Contains cytochromes b and c. Menaquinone-6 (2-methyl-3-farnesyl-farnesyl-1,4-naphthoquinone) and a methyl-substituted menaquinone-6 [2, (5 or 8)-dimethyl-3-farnesyl-farnesyl-1,4-naphthoquinone] have been reported as major respiratory quinones. The mol% G+C of the DNA is 28 to 30 (thermal denaturation method). Strains have been isolated from superficial ulcers and soft tissue infections, non-gonococcal, non-chlamydial urethritis, and periodontal disease. Pathogenicity is difficult to assess because strains are mostly recovered from mixed infections.