Comparison ofArcobacterIsolation Methods, and Diversity ofArcobacterspp. in Cheshire, United Kingdom
ABSTRACTThe aims of this study were, firstly, to compare five published methods for the isolation ofArcobacterspp. from animal feces in order to determine the most sensitive and specific method. Second, we analyzed the resulting isolates by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) in order to investigate the diversity of the isolates recovered. Third, we investigated the ability to recoverArcobacterspp. from frozen fecal samples. Seventy-seven fecal samples from cattle, sheep, and badgers were subjected to five isolation methods, based on published methods for the isolation ofArcobacterandCampylobacterspp. Thirty-nineArcobacter butzleriisolates were analyzed using a multilocus sequence typing scheme. The survival ofArcobacterspp. in frozen samples was investigated by freezing the fecal samples at −80°C for 7 days and then applying the same five isolation methods. The most sensitive and specific method used anArcobacter-specific broth in conjunction with modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) with added antibiotics. Freezing of fecal samples led to a reduction in the recovery ofArcobacterspp. by approximately 50%. The 39 allelic profiles obtained by MLST could be divided into 11 sequence types (STs). We have identified the most sensitive and specific method for the isolation ofArcobacterspp. from animal feces and demonstrated that the freezing of fecal samples prior to isolation reduces arcobacter recovery. MLST analysis of the isolates revealed a high level of diversity.