Genotyping and genetic diversity of Arcobacter butzleri by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis.

AIMS: To investigate the potential of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) profiling for genotyping Arcobacter butzleri and to obtain further data on the genetic diversity of this organism. METHODS AND RESULTS: Seventy-three isolates of Danish, British, Turkish, Swedish, Nigerian and North American origin from human infections, chickens, turkeys, ducks, sheep and poultry abbatoir effluent were studied by use of a protocol that involved stringent PCR amplification of fragments derived from digestion of genomic DNA with restriction enzymes BglII and Csp6I. The mean similarity value of duplicate profiles of 10 isolates was 91.15%, indicating the method to be reproducible. Numerical analysis of all 73 isolates distinguished 51 subtypes at the 91% similarity level, of which 39 comprised single strains. The remaining 34 isolates were distributed among 12 subtypes, each of which contained strains homogeneous with respect to their respective source of isolation. However, contemporaneous strains from the same source could also be distinguished. CONCLUSIONS: AFLP profiling is an effective method for typing the genetically diverse organism A. butzleri. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The study represents a comprehensive analysis of the genetic diversity of A. butzleri by use of isolates from six countries spanning three continents and also shows that several distinct A. butzleri genotypes may be found in a given environment. AFLP profiling appears to have considerable potential for molecular epidemiological studies of this ubiquitous emerging pathogen that is implicated as a causative agent of both human and animal disease.

Arcobacter butzleri strains from poultry abattoir effluent in Nigeria [corrected].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence, species distribution and genetic diversity of zoonotic Arcobacter species. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Drainage system of a cosmopolitan chicken abattoir in Lagos, Nigeria. METHODS: One hundred and fifty drainage water samples were enriched in a minimal antibiotics-containing medium at room temperature and bacteria then isolated by use of a membrane filtration method. RESULTS: Twenty six (14%) of samples were positive for Arcobacter spp. Of these, 20 were examined by a comprehensive probabilistic identification scheme for Epsilobacteria and all strains identified as A. butzleri. AFLP analysis of these strains revealed considerable genetic diversity among the strains, with 12 genotypes defined at the 90% similarity level. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of A. butzleri in Nigerian poultry abattoir effluent indicates this species may constitute a public health problem in this country. AFLP profiling could be a useful tool for molecular epidemiological and population genetic studies of this organism. This is the first known report of A. butzleri in Nigeria, and first application of AFLP analysis for genotyping the species.