Cara N. Wilder, Ph.D.Arcobacter is a genus of aerotolerant, Campylobacter-like bacteria first isolated from aborted bovine fetuses by Ellis et al. in 1977. Since then, Arcobacter species have been discovered in a variety of sources, including food, water, animals, and agricultural run-off. In recent years, the prevalence of Arcobacter butzleri and Arcobacter cryaerophilus in food, raw milk, and water has suggested the potential of these organisms to be spread by contaminated consumable products. This is particularly disconcerting as these species are considered to be pathogenic, causing a variety of symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, and septicemia.
To aid in the identification, characterization, and epidemiology of Arcobacter strains, Miller et al. developed a multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) scheme based on the analysis of partial, defined sequences from seven Arcobacter housekeeping genes (aspA, atpA(uncA), glnA, gltA, glyA, pgm, and tkt). In this study, a sample set of 374 strains comprising five known Arcobacter species was isolated from a diverse array of sources and geographical regions. The analysis of these strains yielded almost 300 sequence types and 1176 alleles across the seven loci. Overall, this extensive set of genomic sequence data may aid with strain discrimination as well as help track sporadic Arcobacter-related gastroenteritis and potential outbreaks.
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