Detection of Arcobacter spp in poultry, pigs, their meat and environment samples by conventional and PCR assays

Samples (300) comprising poultry and pig faeces, meat, poultry intestinal contents and environmental samples were investigated bacteriologically for the presence of Arcobacter spp. On the basis of morphology and biochemical tests, 34(11.33%) of the isolates were identified as Arcobacter. The isolates grew at 28 degrees C aerobically but failed to grow at 42 degrees C. Arcobacters were differentiated from closely related campylobacters by their ability to grow in aerobic condition and negative for hippurate hydrolysis test. The genus specific amplification of 16S rRNA gene by PCR gave an amplification product of 1223 bp in all 34 presumptive Arcobacter isolates. The highest rate of Arcobacter isolation was from poultry meat samples (18%) followed by poultry environmental samples (16%), poultry intestinal contents (13.33%), poultry faecal (10%), pork (10%) and pig faecal (8%) and no arcobacters could be isolated from the pig environments. Multiplex PCR (m-PCR) targeting for 16S r RNA and 23S rRNA genes detected A. butzleri (12), A. skirrowii (6) and A. cryaerophilus (4). However, some of isolates showed mixed culture of both A. butzleri and A. skkirrowii (5), A. skkirrowii and A. cryaerophilus (4) and A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus (3).