Bacillus cereus is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, facultatively anaerobic, motile, beta-hemolytic, spore-forming bacterium commonly found in soil, food and marine sponges. The specific name, cereus, meaning "waxy" in Latin, refers to the appearance of colonies grown on blood agar. Some strains are harmful to humans and cause foodborne illness, while other strains can be beneficial as probiotics for animals. The bacteria is classically contracted from fried rice dishes that have been sitting at room temperature for hours. B. cereus bacteria are facultative anaerobes, and like other members of the genus Bacillus, can produce protective endospores. Its virulence factors include phospholipase C, cereulide, sphingomyelinase, metalloproteases, and cytotoxin K.
Campylobacter is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria. Campylobacter typically appear comma- or s-shaped, and are motile. Some Campylobacter species can infect humans, sometimes causing campylobacteriosis, a diarrhoeal disease in humans. Campylobacteriosis is usually self-limiting and antimicrobial treatment is often not required, except in severe cases or immunocompromised patients. The most known source for Campylobacter is poultry, but due to their diverse natural reservoir, Campylobacter spp. can also be transmitted via water. Other known sources of Campylobacter infections include food products, such as unpasteurised milk and contaminated fresh produce. Sometimes the source of infection can be direct contact with infected animals, which often carry Campylobacter asymptomatically. At least a dozen species of Campylobacter have been implicated in human disease, with C. jejuni (80–90%) and C. coli (5-10%) being the most common. C. jejuni is recognized as one of the main causes of bacterial foodborne disease in many developed countries. It is the number one cause of bacterial gastroentritis in Europe, with over 246,000 cases confirmed annually. C. jejuni infection can also cause bacteremia in immunocompromised individuals, while C. lari is a known cause of recurrent diarrhea in children. C. fetus can cause spontaneous abortions in cattle and sheep, and is an opportunistic pathogen in humans.
Clostridium perfringens is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming pathogenic bacterium of the genus Clostridium. C. perfringens is ever-present in nature and can be found as a normal component of decaying vegetation, marine sediment, the intestinal tract of humans and other vertebrates, insects, and soil. It has the shortest reported generation time of any organism at 6.3 minutes in thioglycolate medium.
Foodborne illness is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as prions, and toxins such as aflatoxins in peanuts, poisonous mushrooms, and various species of beans that have not been boiled for at least 10 minutes.
Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common causes of food poisoning in Europe and in the US. The vast majority of cases occur as isolated events, not as part of recognized outbreaks. Active surveillance through the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) indicates that about 20 cases are diagnosed each year for each 100,000 people in the US, while many more cases are undiagnosed or unreported; the CDC estimates a total of 1.5 million infections every year. The European Food Safety Authority reported 246,571 cases in 2018, and estimated approximately nine million cases of human campylobacteriosis per year in the European Union.
Yersinia enterocolitica is a Gram-negative, bacillus-shaped bacterium, belonging to the family Yersiniaceae. It is motile at temperatures of 22–29°C (72–84°F), but becomes nonmotile at normal human body temperature. Y. enterocolitica infection causes the disease yersiniosis, which is an animal-borne disease occurring in humans, as well as in a wide array of animals such as cattle, deer, pigs, and birds. Many of these animals recover from the disease and become carriers; these are potential sources of contagion despite showing no signs of disease. The bacterium infects the host by sticking to its cells using trimeric autotransporter adhesins.
Campylobacterota are a phylum of bacteria. All species of this phylum are Gram-negative.
Campylobacter upsaliensis is a gram negative bacteria in the Campylobacter genus. C. upsaliensis is found worldwide, and is a common cause of campylobacteriosis in humans, as well as gastroenteritis in dogs. Human infections are primarily associated with raw or undercooked meat and contaminated water sources, however there is some zoonotic risk associated with the spread from dogs. C. upsaliensis primarily affects the gastrointestinal tract as it damages gastrointestinal epithelial cells. There are many methods for detecting C.upsaliensis including PCR and ELISA, however there is no current gold standard in detection techniques. Infection is typically self limiting, however there is antimicrobial therapy available.
Limosilactobacillus fermentum is a Gram-positive species in the heterofermentative genus Limosilactobacillus. It is associated with active dental caries lesions. It is also commonly found in fermenting animal and plant material including sourdough and cocoa fermentation. A few strains are considered probiotic or "friendly" bacteria in animals and at least one strain has been applied to treat urogenital infections in women. Some strains of lactobacilli formerly mistakenly classified as L. fermentum have since been reclassified as Limosilactobacillus reuteri. Commercialized strains of L. fermentum used as probiotics include PCC, ME-3 and CECT5716
Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica is a subspecies of Salmonella enterica, the rod-shaped, flagellated, aerobic, Gram-negative bacterium. Many of the pathogenic serovars of the S. enterica species are in this subspecies, including that responsible for typhoid.
Arcobacter is a genus of Gram-negative, spiral-shaped bacteria in the phylum Campylobacterota. It shows an unusually wide range of habitats, and some species can be human and animal pathogens. Species of the genus Arcobacter are found in both animal and environmental sources, making it unique among the Campylobacterota. This genus currently consists of five species: A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus, A. skirrowii, A. nitrofigilis, and A. sulfidicus, although several other potential novel species have recently been described from varying environments. Three of these five known species are pathogenic. Members of this genus were first isolated in 1977 from aborted bovine fetuses. They are aerotolerant, Campylobacter-like organisms, previously classified as Campylobacter. The genus Arcobacter, in fact, was created as recently as 1992. Although they are similar to this other genus, Arcobacter species can grow at lower temperatures than Campylobacter, as well as in the air, which Campylobacter cannot.
Applied Maths NV, a bioMérieux company headquartered in Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium, is a bioinformatics company developing software for the biosciences.
Campylobacter coli is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic, non-endospore-forming, S-shaped bacterial species within genus Campylobacter. In humans, it C. coli can cause campylobacteriosis, a diarrhoeal disease which is the most frequently reported foodborne illness in the European Union. C. coli grows slowly with an optimum temperature of 42 °C. When exposed to air for long periods, they become spherical or coccoid shaped.
Campylobacter concisus is a Gram-negative, highly fastidious, mesophilic bacterium that grows under both anaerobic and microaerobic conditions with the presence of hydrogen significantly aiding growth. Motile, with either unipolar or bipolar flagella, the organisms have a characteristic spiral/corkscrew appearance and are oxidase-positive. Although the human oral cavity is the natural colonization site of the bacterium, C. concisus may also colonize the intestinal tract of some individuals. In particular, several studies have reported higher intestinal prevalence of C. concisus in patients with IBD compared to healthy controls, which has led to current speculation of the bacterium's implication in the induction of Crohn's disease.
Campylobacter hyointestinalis is a species of Campylobacter implicated as a pathogen in gastroenteritis and diarrhoea in humans. It has been known to be transmitted from its usual host, the pig, to humans. In pigs, it is usually associated with proliferative ileitis, and found in conjunction with other species of that genus; however, it has also been isolated from hamster and cattle feces. It is catalase-positive, hydrogen sulfide-positive in the TSI slant, glycine-tolerant, and intolerant to 3.0% sodium chloride. It is able to grow at 25 °C, is sensitive to cephalothin, and resistant to nalidixic acid.
Campylobacter lari is a species of nalidixic acid-resistant, thermophilic, microaerophilic bacteria first isolated from human faeces. It shows anaerobic growth in the presence of trimethylamine N-oxide hydrochloride. Its type strain is NCTC 11352. It is commonly found in sea gulls. In humans, it has been involved in cases of enteritis, severe abdominal pain and terminal bacteremia.
Lactiplantibacillus paraplantarum is a rod-shaped species of lactic acid bacteria first isolated from beer and human faeces. It is facultatively heterofermentative. Strain CNRZ 1885 is the type strain.
Arcobacter cibarius is a species of Gram-negative, rod-shaped, slightly curved, non-spore-forming bacteria. LMG 21996T is its type strain.
Brucella tritici is a species of bacteria first isolated from wheat rhizoplane. Its type strain is SCII24T.
Campylobacter showae is a species of Campylobacter found in humans. It is gram-negative, straight rod-shaped, motile by means of multiple unipolar flagella. It is asaccharolytic and prefers an anaerobic atmosphere. SU A4 is its type strain. Its genome has been sequenced.
