Identification of Trueperella bernardiae isolated from peking ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) by phenotypical and genotypical investigations and by a newly developed loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay

Abstract

Trueperella (T.) bernardiae is a well-known bacterial pathogen in infections of humans, rarely in animals. In the present study, five T. bernardiae isolates, isolated from five Peking ducks of four different farms, were identified by phenotypic properties, by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis, and genotypically by sequencing the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, the superoxide dismutase A encoding gene sodA, and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase encoding gene gap. In addition, the T. bernardiae isolates could be identified with a newly developed loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay based on the gyrase encoding housekeeping gene gyrA. All these tests clearly identified the T. bernardiae isolates to the species level. However, the detection of the specific gene gyrA with the newly designed LAMP assay appeared with a high sensitivity and specificity, and could help to identify this bacterial species in human and animal infections in future. The importance of the T. bernardiae isolates for the clinical condition of the ducks and for the problems at farm level remains unclear.

Beyond the usual suspects: emerging uropathogens in the microbiome age

“…Of these five organisms, only T. bernardiae and T. pyrogenes have been reported in humans, all associated with mild to severe infections and abscesses. As all 5 species have been reported as pathogens in animals, it has yet to be established if T. bernardiae and T. pyrogenes are commensals in skin, oropharynx, and urinary tract or are opportunistic zoonotic pathogens of humans (225,231,233). The occurrence of T. bernardiae in polymicrobial infections may reflect dependence of this organism on nutrients provided by other species.…”