Ureaplasma felinum sp. nov. and Ureaplasma cati sp. nov. Isolated from the Oral Cavities of Cats

Abstract

Seven ureaplasma strains isolated from the oral cavities of domestic cats (Felis domestica) were characterized and compared with the type strains of the three previously established species of this genus, Ureaplasma urealyticum (humans), Ureaplasma diversum (cattle), and Ureaphsma gallorule (chickens). The feline strains hydrolyzed urea but not arginine or glucose, were membrane bound, lacked cell walls, passed through 0.45-pm membrane filters, required cholesterol for growth, and formed minute (15-to 140-pm) colonies on agar medium. The seven feline strains fell into two distinct groups based on (i) their antigenic properties (determined by using the metabolism and growth inhibition and indirect immunoperoxidase procedures), (ii) their genomic properties (determined by using DNA-DNA hybridization and DNA cleavage pattern procedures), and (iii) their polypeptide profiles (determined by using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses). Based on these properties, the two feline groups were unrelated to each other or to the three previously established species, and each group represents a distinct Ureaplasma species. Thus, we propose that ureaplasmas with these phylogenetic and genomic properties be given taxonomic status as Ureaplasma felinum and Ureaplasma cati, with strain FT2-B (= ATCC 49229 = NCTC 11709) and strain F2 (= ATCC 49228 = NCTC 11710) as the type strains, respectively.The genus Ureaplasma belongs to the family Mycopfasmataceae and is comprised of organisms that hydrolyze urea. Ureaplasmas are widely distributed in nature and colonize most animal species that have been examined, including humans (26, 27), nonhuman primates (39, cattle (12, 34), sheep (22), goats (6), dogs (39, cats (31), mink (3, raccoon dogs (15), pigs (29), and birds (28). They are also responsible for a number of diseases of humans and animals (6, 26). Until now, only three species have been established within the genus. Ureaplasma urealyticum was isolated originally from a patient with nongonococcal urethritis (2), Ureaplasma diversum was isolated from the lungs of cattle with pneumonia (ll), and Ureaplasma gallorale was isolated from the oropharynges of healthy chickens (16). There are at least 14 serovars of U . urealyticum, three serovars of U . diversum, and one serovar of U . gallorale.Ureaplasma strains isolated from domestic cats (Felis domestica) have been reported previously to be unrelated to and distinct from the three previously established species based on their antigenic and genomic properties (7,9,10,17, 19,20). In addition, we have reported that the G+C contents of DNAs from strains which belong to the two species proposed in this paper are 27.9 mol% (13) and 28.1 mol% (7); these contents are within the range of values (26.9 to 31.6 mol%) reported for the previously established species. Based on the data reported previously and in this paper, we believe that each of the two feline ureaplasma groups merits taxonomic classification as a new species, and we report here further characterizati...

Phylogenetic Analysis of Genes Coding for 16S rRNA in Mammalian Ureaplasmas

“…U. felinum FT2-BT, U. cati F2T, and U. canigenitalium D6P-CT were all obtained from our laboratory stock cultures (5,6). All of the strains were grown aerobically in liquid medium at 37°C as described previously…”

Ureaplasma canigenitalium sp. nov., Isolated from Dogs

“…The media used for cultivation of ureaplasmas have been described previously (8). The liquid medium used (T-broth) was composed of 70 ml of PPLO broth (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Mich.), 20 ml of horse serum, 10 ml of 25% (wtkol) yeast extract prepared from bakery yeast (Nitten Co., Tokyo, Japan), 1 ml of a solution containing 100,000 U of penicillin G per ml, 1 ml of 10% urea, and 0.004% phenol red; the pH was adjusted to 6.0 2 0.2 by using 1 N hydrochloric acid.…”

“…Ureaplasmas have been isolated from a variety of animal species, including humans (23), cattle (28), nonhuman primates (29), goats (7), sheep (19), dogs (29), cats (27), mink (6), raccoon dogs (16), pigs (26), and fowl (25). Previously the following five species of the genus Ureaplasma have been described: Ureaplasma urealyticum (type strain, T960 [= ATCC 27618]), isolated from a patient with nongonococcal urethritis (24); Ureaplasma diversum (type strain, A417 [= ATCC 43321]), isolated from cattle with pneumonia (10); Ureaplasma gallorale (type strain, D6-1 [= ATCC 43346 = NCTC 11707]), isolated from the oropharynx of a chicken (17); and Ureaplasma felinum (type strain, FT-2B [= ATCC 49229 = NCTC 117091) and Ureaplasma cati (type strain, F2 [= ATCC 49228 = NCTC 11710]), both of which were isolated from the oral cavities of cats (8). There are at least 14 serovars of U. urealyticurn and three serovars of U. diversum.…”

Oceanivirga miroungae sp. nov., isolated from oral cavity of northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris)

“…The growth of strains ES3154-GLU T and ES2714_GLU was originally achieved in anaerobic conditions; however, with continuous propagation in the PPLO broth both strains were also successfully cultivated at 36±1 °C in aerobic (i.e., ambient air supplemented with 5 % CO2) and microaerophilic conditions after 4-6 days of incubation, although anaerobic conditions seem to be preferable for the cultivation of these strains. Filtration studies were conducted as described elsewhere [18]. Filtration of overnight broth cultures of both strains demonstrated that this Oceanivirga species was able to pass through 0.45 µm Corning sterile vacuum filters (Fisher Scientific) with a reduction in viable counts of ~3-4 Log10 c.f.u.…”

“…Using transmission electron microscopy, performed as described elsewhere [18], bacterial cells of strain ES3154-GLU T collected at the exponential phase of growth appeared as non-spore-forming micro-organisms with some granularity inside observed on ultra-thin cross-sections and approximately 700-2000 nm in diameter surrounded with a double plasma membrane layer ( Fig. 1a, b).…”