Abstract
The present study was designed to characterize six Trueperella (T.) abortisuis strains, cultured over a period of 5 months from fetus and abortion material of six pigs of a single farm in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania federal state, Germany. It was of interest to investigate the epidemiological relationships of the six strains among each other and whether a single bacterial clone was responsible for the abortion situation of the single farm. All six strains were identified phenotypically, by MALDI-TOF MS analysis and by phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene and gap (encoding the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase) and tuf (encoding elongation factor tu) gene sequencing. Further genotypic comparison was performed using different genomic DNA fingerprint methods including BOX-PCR, (GTG)5-PCR, and three RAPD-PCRs. The sequence analysis of the genes gap and tuf and the genomic DNA fingerprinting results revealed, as noval findings, that the six T. abortisuis strains cultured from a single farm represent six different bacterial clones showing a genetic variability of this bacterial species in the pig population. All six T. abortisuis strains were isolated in mixed culture with several other bacterial species. However, the T. abortisuis strain, generally found in high numbers, seemed to be responsible for the abortion situation in the farm.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.



References
Azuma R, Murakami S, Ogawa A, Okada Y, Miyazaki S, Makino T (2009) Arcanobacterium abortisuis sp. nov., isolated from a placenta of a sow following an abortion. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 59:1469–1473
Bizzini A, Jaton K, Romo D, Bille J, Prod’hom G, Greub G (2011) Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry as an alternative to 16S rRNA gene sequencing for identification of difficult-to-identify bacterial strains. J Clin Microbiol 49:693–696
Bussalleu E, Althouse GC (2017) Identification of Trueperella abortisuis contamination in extended boar semen. J Swine Health Prod 25:299–302
Ghebremedhin B, Layer F, König W, König B (2008) Genetic classification and distinguishing of Staphylococcus species based on different partial gap, 16S rRNA, hsp60, rpoB, sodA, and tuf gene sequences. J Clin Microbiol 46:1019–1025
Glaeser SP, Galatis H, Martin K, Kämpfer P (2013) Niabella hirudinis and Niabella drilacis sp. nov., isolated from the medicinal leech Hirudo verbana. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 63:3487–3493
Hijazin M, Alber J, Lämmler C, Weitzel T, Hassan AA, Timke M, Kostrzewa M, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Zschöck M (2012a) Identification of Trueperella (Arcanobacterium) bernardiae by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis and by species-specific PCR. J Med Microbiol 61:457–459
Hijazin M, Hassan AA, Alber J, Lämmler C, Timke M, Kostrzewa M, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Zschöck M (2012b) Evaluation of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for species identification of bacteria of genera Arcanobacterium and Trueperella. Vet Microbiol 157:243–245
Hijazin M, Metzner M, Erhard M, Nagib S, Alber J, Lämmler C, Hassan AA, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Zschöck M (2012c) First description of Trueperella (Arcanobacterium) bernardiae of animal origin. Vet Microbiol 159:515–518
Hijazin M, Ülbegi-Mohyla H, Alber J, Lämmler C, Hassan AA, Timke M, Kostrzewa M, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Weiss R, Zschöck M (2012d) Identification of Arcanobacterium (Trueperella) abortisuis, a novel species of veterinary importance, by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Berl Münch Tierärztl Wochenschr 125:32–37
Jost BH, Billington SJ (2005) Arcanobacterium pyogenes: molecular pathogenesis of an animal opportunist. A Van Leeuw J Microb 88:87–102
Lämmler C, Hartwigk H (1995) Actinomyces pyogenes und Arcanobacterium haemolyticum. In: Blobel H, Schließer T (eds) Handbuch der bakteriellen Infektionen bei Tieren, 2nd edn. Gustav Fischer, Jena, pp 196–240 Band II/3
Lehnen A, Busse HJ, Frölich K, Krasinska M, Kämpfer P, Speck S (2006) Arcanobacterium bialowiezense sp. nov., and Arcanobacterium bonasi sp. nov., isolated from the prepuce of European bison bulls (Bison bonasus) suffering from balanoposthitis, and emended description of the genus Arcanobacterium Collins et al. 1983. Int Syst Evol Microbiol 56:861–866
Li X, Xing J, Li B, Wang P, Liu J (2012) Use of tuf as a target for sequence-based identification of Gram-positive cocci of the genus Enterococcus, Streptococcus, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and Lactococcus. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob 11:31–36
Metzner M, Erhard M, Sammra O, Nagib S, Hijazin M, Alber J, Lämmler C, Abdulmawjood A, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Zschöck M, Hassan AA (2013) Trueperella abortisuis, an emerging pathogen isolated from pigs in Germany. Berl Münch Tierärztl Wochensch 126:423–426
Murray PR (2010) Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: usefulness for taxonomy and epidemiology. Clin Microbiol Infect 16:1626–1630
Nagib S, Glaeser SP, Eisenberg T, Sammra O, Lämmler C, Kämpfer P, Schauerte N, Geiger C, Kaim U, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Becker A, Abdulmawjood A (2017) Fatal infection in three Grey Slender Lorises (Loris lydekkerianus nordicus) caused by clonally related Trueperella pyogenes. BMC Vet Res 13:273–281
Risse K, Schlez K, Eisenberg T, Geiger C, Balbutskaya A, Sammra O, Lämmler C, Abdulmawjood A (2014) Phenotypical and genotypical properties of an Arcanobacterium pluranimalium strain isolated from a juvenile giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata). J Vet Med. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/408724
Sammra O, Balbutskaya A, Hijazin M, Nagib S, Alber J, Lämmler C, Abdulmawjood A, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Timke M, Kostrzewa M, Siebert U (2014a) Further studies on Arcanobacterium phocisimile: a novel species of genus Arcanobacterium. J Vet Med. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/923592
Sammra O, Balbutskaya A, Nagib S, Alber J, Lämmler C, Abdulmawjood A, Timke M, Kostrzewa M, Prenger-Berninghoff E (2014b) Properties of an Arcanobacterium haemolyticum strain isolated from a donkey. Berl Münch Tierärztl Wochenschr 127:56–60
Seng P, Drancourt M, Gouriet F, La Scola B, Fournier PE, Rolain JM, Raoult D (2009) Ongoing revolution in bacteriology: routine identification of bacteria by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Clin Infect Dis 49:543–551
Ülbegi-Mohyla H, Hassan AA, Hijazin M, Alber J, Lämmler C, Abdulmawjood A, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Weiss R, Zschöck M (2011) Characterization of Arcanobacterium abortisuis by phenotypic properties and by sequencing the 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region. Vet Microbiol 148:431–433
Wickhorst J-P, Hassan AA, Sammra O, Huber-Schlenstedt R, Lämmler C, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Timke M, Abdulmawjood A (2016) Phenotypic and genotypic approach to characterize Arcanobacterium pluranimalium isolated from bovine milk samples. Folia Microbiol (Praha) 61:405–412
Wickhorst J-P, Sammra O, Hassan AA, Alssahen M, Lämmler C, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Erhard M, Metzner M, Paschertz K, Timke M, Abdulmawjood A (2017) Identification of Arcanobacterium hippocoleae by MALDI-TOF MS analysis and by various genotypical properties. Res Vet Sci 115:10–12
Wickhorst J-P, Hassan AA, Sheet OH, Eisenberg T, Sammra O, Alssahen M, Lämmler C, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Zschöck M, Timke M, Abdulmawjood A (2018) Trueperella pyogenes isolated from a brain abscess of an adult roebuck (Capreolus capreolus). Folia Microbiol (Praha) 63:17–22
Wickhorst J-P, Hassan AA, Sammra O, Alssahen M, Lämmler C, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Naggert M, Timke M, Rau J, Abdulmawjood A (2019) First report on the isolation of Trueperella abortisuis from companion animals. Res Vet Sci 125:465–467
Yassin AF, Hupfer H, Siering C, Schumann P (2011) Comparative chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic studies on the genus Arcanobacterium Collins et al., 1982 emend Lehnen et al., 2006: proposal for Trueperella gen. nov. and emended description of the genus Arcanobacterium. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 61:1265–1274
Ziemke F, Brettar I, Höfle M (1997) Stability and diversity of the genetic structure of a Shewanella putrefaciens population in the water column of the central Baltic. Aquat Microb Ecol 13:63–74
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alssahen, M., Hassan, A.A., Wickhorst, JP. et al. Epidemiological analysis of Trueperella abortisuis isolated from cases of pig abortion of a single farm. Folia Microbiol 65, 491–496 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-019-00753-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-019-00753-9