Clostridium chrysemydis sp. nov., isolated from the faecal material of a painted turtle

A strict anaerobic, Gram-stain-positive rod-shaped bacterium, designated PT^T, was isolated from the faecal material of a painted turtle (Chrysemys picta). Based on a comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the isolate was assigned to Clostridium sensu stricto with the highest sequence similarities to Clostridium moniliforme (97.4 %), Clostridium sardiniense (97.2 %) and the misclassified organism Eubacterium multiforme (97.1 %). The predominant cellular fatty acids of strain PT^T were C_14 : 0, C_16 : 0 and an unidentified product with an equivalent chain length of 14.969. The G+C content determined from the genome was 28.8 mol%. The fermentation end products from glucose were acetate and butyrate with no alcohols detected and trace amounts of CO₂ and H₂ also detected; no respiratory quinones were detected. Based on biochemical, phylogenetic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic criteria, the isolate represents a novel species of the genus Clostridium for which the name Clostridium chrysemydis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is strain PT^T (=CCUG 74180^T=ATCC TSD-219^T).

Detection of Helicobacter in the fecal material of the endangered Yangtze finless porpoise Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis

In animals, infection by the Epsilonproteobacteria Helicobacter spp. and H. cetorum is widespread. It has been suggested that H. cetorum may cause gastritis in cetaceans. The aim of our study was to investigate the presence of Helicobacter spp. in the fecal material of the endangered Yangtze finless porpoise Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis. The fecal material of 12 porpoises living in the wild in Poyang Lake and 1 porpoise living in captivity at the Wuhan Baiji Dolphinarium were examined by PCR for the presence of Helicobacter spp. The fecal material of 8 of 12 wild porpoises and the captive porpoise were positive for Helicobacter spp. as determined by PCR using Helicobacter-specific primers, which target the 16S rRNA gene. A 16S rRNA clone library was then prepared from 1 sample isolated from a female porpoise living in the wild. DNA sequence analysis from 3 of the clones showed 98 to 99% identity to the H. cetorum 16S rRNA gene. These results demonstrate the prevalence of Helicobacter spp. and H. cetorum in endangered freshwater finless porpoises.