Helicobacter labacensis sp. nov., Helicobacter mehlei sp. nov., and Helicobacter vulpis sp. nov., isolated from gastric mucosa of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

Gruntar, Igor (author), Papić, Bojan (author), Pate, Mateja (author), Zajc, Urška (author), Ocepek, Matjaž (author), Kušar, Darja (author)

Six Helicobacter- like isolates were recovered from 15 gastric mucosa samples of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) shot by hunters in the surroundings of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Gram- negative, tightly coiled, intensely motile, 7–15 μm long and ≤1 μm wide bacteria grew on the biphasic blood agar plates. By using a genus- specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), all isolates were confirmed as Helicobacter sp. and subsequently subjected to whole- genome sequencing (WGS). Five isolates showed a genome-wide average nucleotide identity (ANI) value of <95 % to the previously described Helicobacter species and one isolate was classified as Helicobacter felis. In the five unidentified isolates, the 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to the type strains of all Helico-bacter species ranged from 98.6 to 98.9 %. Their taxonomic status was established using a polyphasic taxonomic approach comprising the core genome- based phylogeny, morphological and phenotypic characteristics, including an analysis of matrix- assisted laser desorption/ionisation time- of- flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectra. Phylogeny revealed the existence of three novel and well- supported clusters, with Helicobacter bizzozeronii and Helicobacter baculiformis being the most closely related species. The isolates also differed from the previously described species in their MALDI-TOF profiles and some biochemical characteris-tics. In conclusion, the data presented herein indicate that the obtained isolates, excluding H. felis isolate, represent three novel Helicobacter species, for which the names Helicobacter labacensis sp. nov., Helicobacter mehlei sp. nov., and Helicobacter vulpissp. nov. are proposed, with isolates L9T (=DSM 108823T=CRBIP 111719T), L15T (=DSM 108730T=CCUG 72910T) and L2T (=DSM 108727T=CCUG 72909T) as type strains, respectively

• Language: English
• Keywords: Helicobacter, novel species, red fox, Vulpes vulpes, gastric mucosa
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: VF - Veterinary Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: Str. 2395-2404
• Numbering: Vol. 70, Iss. 4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-116676
• UDC: 636.09:579
• ISSN on article: 1466-5026
• DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.004050
• COBISS.SI-ID: 5030010
• Publication date in RUL: 02.06.2020

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology
• Shortened title: Int J Syst Evol Microbiol
• Publisher: Society for General Microbiology
• ISSN: 1466-5026
• COBISS.SI-ID: 2145556

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 02.06.2020

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P4-0092
• Name: Zdravje živali, okolje in varna hrana