Isolation and identification of arcobacter species recovered from rabbits in Zagazig, Egypt

Abstract EN

Although Arcobacter species is emerging foodborne pathogen, the role of rabbit as a source of Arcobacter infections is unknown.

The present study was designed to study the isolation rate of Arcobacter species in rabbit and its drinking water.The molecular fingerprinting of 10 Arcobacterspecies isolates was carried out by ERIC-PCR technique.

From 50 samples including 20 rabbit meat, 20 rabbit stool and 10 drinking waters, 36 (72%) Arcobacter species strains were isolated.

Recovered isolates from the examined meat, stool and water samples were 15, 20 and 0 with the percentages of 75, 100 and 0, respectively.

Concerning, A.

butzleri, it was isolated from 2(10%) of meat samples and 3(15%) of stool samples.

A.

skirrowiiwas isolated from meat and stool with the frequency of 6(30%) and 8(40%), respectively.

A.

cryaerophilus was isolated from 7(35%) and 9(45%), respectively.ERIC-PCR grouped the total examined 10 isolates of Arcobacter species based on the presence or absence of the major amplified bands (A-M) ranged from ˃1400 bp to 200 bp.

The conservative common bands in all isolates were 300 and 400 bp bands.

It was found that there are both intra-species and inter-species molecular diversity among the examined Arcobacter species clones.

The circulating Arcobacter species clones in the tested rabbit farm have multiple genotypes (9/10).

This may be attributed to the variant sources of infections.