We investigated the possibility of enhancing the adherence capacity of four low-adherent Arcobacter butzleri strains after serial intraperitoneal passage (i.p.) in mice. All the strains enhanced their adherence capacity after the first passage, increasing their adhesion rates after each passage. These results suggest that i.p. passage enhances the expression of adherence in A. butzleri strains. Se investigó la posibilidad de incrementar la capacidad de adherencia de cuatro cepas de Arcobacter butzleri de baja adherencia por sucesivos pasajes por peritoneo de ratón. Todas las cepas aumentaron su capacidad de adherencia después del primer pasaje, e incrementaron las tasas de adherencia después de cada pasaje. Estos resultados sugieren que es posible incrementar la expresión de la adherencia en A. butzleri por pasajes intraperitoneales sucesivos en ratón.

The survival of three Arcobacter butzleri strains inside Acanthamoeba castellanii was assessed using axenic cultures of A. castellanii that were inoculated with the tested strains and incubated at 26°C under aerobic conditions for 240h. The behavior of bacteria in contact with amoebae was monitored using phase contrast microscopy. The bacterial survival rate within amoebae was assessed through counting colony forming units, using the gentamicin protection assay. All A. butzleri strains were able to survive during 240h within the amoebae, thus suggesting that (i) A. butzleri resists the amoebic digestion processes at least for the analyzed time; (ii) that A. castellanii could serve as an environmental reservoir for this bacterium, probably acting as a transmission vehicle for A. butzleri.