title: Detection, isolation, and characterization of helicobacter species from the gastrointestinal tract of the brushtail possum.
abstract: The presence of Helicobacter species in Australian marsupials was examined systematically using microscopy, culture, and PCR in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and in the liver of brushtail possums (BTPs) (Trichosurus vulpecula), a common Australian marsupial that feeds on eucalyptus leaves. The spatial distribution of Helicobacter species in the GIT sections also was examined microscopically in silver-stained sections and by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) using a Helicobacter genus-specific probe. Helicobacter species were found colonizing the lower bowel of all BTPs studied. Good agreement was observed between the detection of Helicobacter species using culture and PCR, which was supported by the microscopic examination of silver-stained sections and FISH. The lower bowel of BTPs were colonized by one to three morphologically different (a comma-shaped species with no apparent flagella, a fusiform-shaped species entwined with periplasmic fibers and a bipolar sheathed flagella, and an S-shaped species with bipolar sheathed flagella) and potentially novel Helicobacter species, as well as in one case with a potentially novel Campylobacter species, which was a tightly coiled rod with bipolar unsheathed flagella. The isolation and characterization of these Helicobacter species in BTPs provides important information regarding the specific natural niche of these bacteria and their corelationship within their host, and it increases our understanding of the ecology of Helicobacter species.
authors.affiliation: The School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Thosaporn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Coldham
authors.forename: Kerrie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: Jani
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'rourke
authors.forename: Brett A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Neilan
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hazel
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002167:Campylobacter / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D016998:Helicobacter / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008099:Liver / Q000382:microbiology*; D008394:Marsupialia / Q000382:microbiology*; D008853:Microscopy; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S