title: Isolation of oral spirochetes from dogs and cats and provisional identification using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis specific for human plaque Treponema spp.
abstract: Identification of plaque spirochetes from dogs is rare and no studies to date report cultivation of canine or feline plaque spirochetes. Plaque samples obtained from canine and feline patients were cultured in broth media. Spirochetes cultured were subjected to microscopic evaluation and were cloned on a solid medium. The clones were provisionally identified using species-specific PCR for treponema isolated from human plaque. Canine spirochete clones included Treponema denticola, T. socranskii ssp., T. vincentii, T. maltophilum, T. medium, and T. pectinovorum. Feline clones included T. maltophilum and T. socranskii. Non-amplified clones may represent novel treponemes. Future studies will be aimed at comparison of the spirochetes present in dogs and cats with or without periodontal disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78284-7894, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valdez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Haines
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Riviere
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Riviere
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D004285:Dogs; D006801:Humans; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D014208:Treponema / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014211:Treponemal Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*