Arcobacter butzleri and intestinal colonization.

Abstract

Arcobacter genus includes moderately curved Gram-negative bacilli, whose dimensions are comprised between 0.2 and 0.4µm of width and 1 to 3.0µm of length. The characteristic movement of these microorganisms around their own axis is also known as the ‘corkscrew-like motion’. They show adequate growth in blood-enriched media, but they can multiply in many others. Their identification through the phenotypic test results difficult due to their low metabolic activity and sometimes, when using this procedure, Campylobacter spp. cannot be differentiated, thus its presence remaining underestimated [1]. Nowadays their identification (as genus or species) is usually performed using mass spectometry or molecular biology techniques [2].