Chemotaxis of porcine spirochetes towards a variety of mucins was measured quantitatively by a capillary method. A chemotaxis buffer consisting of 0.01 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and 0.2 mM L-cysteine hydrochloride was necessary for chemotaxis of spirochetes. The optimum incubation time and incubation temperature were 1 h and 40°C, respectively. The mucin concentration also affected the chemotaxis observed, and a concentration of 1% (wt/vol) was near the optimum. Virulent Serpulina hyodysenteriae strains were chemotactic towards 1% (wt/vol) hog gastric mucin and 1% (wt/vol) porcine colonic mucin but not towards 1% (wt/vol) bovine submaxillary mucin. Virulent S. hyodysenteriae strains were significantly more chemotactic than avirulent strains of S. hyodysenteriae (SA3 and VS1), Serpulina intermedius, and Serpulina innocens. Other spirochetes belonging to the proposed group of spirochetes Anguillina coli were also not chemotactic.

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Abstract. The accuracy of identification of Serpulina hyodysenteriae strains grown in a complex medium was 90% when 2 commercial test kits were used. Unlike the other S. hyodysenteriae strains, S. hyodysenteriae strain P35/2 was unusual in being indole negative. The nonpathogenic intestinal spirochete PWS/A, which is from a different species, was indole positive and α-galactosidase negative. Identification of these spirochetes on the basis of these kits alone would have been incorrect. The analysis of volatile fatty acids by gas chromatography showed that the ratio of acetic to butyric acid was from 11:1 to 44:1 for S. hyodysenteriae strains, which distinguished them from the other spirochetes. The exception was PWS/A (acetic : butyric of 32:1), but this spirochete, unlike the S. hyodysenteriae spirochetes, also produced isobutyric acid. Short chain fatty acid (SCFA) analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography detected different SCFAs in addition to acetic and butyric acids. These additional SCFAs did not contribute to further differentiation of the porcine spirochetes.

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