title: Strain variation within Campylobacter species in fecal samples from dogs and cats.
abstract: To investigate the incidence of co-colonization of different strains of Campylobacter species present in canine and feline stool samples, isolates were recovered by culture from 40 samples from dogs (n=34) and cats (n=6). Animals were of different ages, with diarrhoea or without clinical signs. Three isolation procedures were used: two selective agars and a filtration method. In each stool sample, multiple colonies were identified to the species level by PCR, subsequently genotyped by Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) and pattern similarities (451 isolates) were calculated to investigate their phylogenetic relationships. Genetic heterogeneity of strains in individual stool samples was detected within the species Campylobacter jejuni, C. upsaliensis and C. helveticus, though to a different degree in dogs and cats. In 3 of the 34 (9%) canine samples, more than one genotype of the same Campylobacter species was present, while strain variation was detected in four of the six feline samples. The results show that preferably, multiple colonies should be analyzed in molecular epidemiological and aetiological studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80165, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands. miriam.koene@wur.nl
authors.forename: Miriam G J
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Koene
authors.forename: Dirk J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Houwers
authors.forename: Jeroen R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Dijkstra
authors.forename: Birgitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Duim
authors.forename: Jaap A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Wagenaar
mesh_terms: D054458:Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis / Q000662:veterinary; D000818:Animals; D002167:Campylobacter / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D004285:Dogs; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D010802:Phylogeny; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D013045:Species Specificity