rachel16emma
My adopted bacterium that I wish to share with everyone is Brachyspira pilosicoli.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects so many people around the world (especially stressed out students like me...) and yet it has no definitive cause - until a recent study discovered Brachyspira pilosicoli to be a possible culprit in causing IBS.
B. pilosicoli viewed under a Transmission Electron Microscope (extracted from https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/11747/view/brachyspira-pilosicoli-bacteria-tem )
Cells are 4 to 10 μm long and 0.2 to 0.3 μm wide. As seen above, the cells also have 8 or 10 periplasmic flagella that aid its mobility.
Brachyspira pilosicoli, a swine intestinal spirochete, observed by dark-field microscopy.
Brachyspira pilosicoli is an anaerobic spirochaete that can colonizes the large intestine of many host species. Infection is particularly problematic in pigs and adult poultry, causing colitis and diarrhea, but it is also known to result in clinical problems in human beings. Despite the economic importance of the spirochaete as an animal pathogen, and its potential as a zoonotic agent, it has not received extensive study.
Brachyspira are cultivated anaerobically on blood agar at 37°C and selective media are typically used for primary isolation of organisms from stool specimens.
he ability of bacteria to adhere is one of the essential features required for successful colonization of the gastrointestinal tract [27]. In both natural and experimental infections with B. pilosicoli in humans, animals and birds, the spirochete shows an unusual form of attachment to the surface of colonic enterocytes, whereby one cell end pushes against and then invaginates into the cell surface, without penetrating the cell membrane [3], [28]. Subsequently, specific interactions with the host cell appear to occur, anchoring the spirochete in place within the pit-like structure that is formed [29].
Researchers have detected a connection between Brachyspira, a genus of bacteria in the intestines, and IBS -- especially the form that causes diarrhea. Although the discovery needs confirmation in larger studies, there is hope that it might lead to new remedies for many people with irritable bowel syndrome.
Natural Habitat and Survival
Brachyspira pilosicoli colonizes the large intestines of many species of wild and domesticated birds and animals. It is regarded as a common pathogen of pigs and adult chickens, and on some farms infections with B. pilosicoli may be endemic. Cross-species transmission undoubtedly occurs, and zoonotic transmission is highly likely, although it has not been conclusively demonstrated (138). The spirochete is passed in feces, and it may survive for prolonged periods in natural water systems such as lakes and ponds, from which it can be isolated. These sorts of water bodies may contain nutrients and anaerobic sludge that would favor the spirochete's survival. For example, B. pilosicoli has been shown to remain viable in lake water held at 4°C for 66 days or at 25°C for 4 days (29). It can survive for 119 days in soil and for 210 days both in soil containing 10% pig feces and in pig feces alone (139). On the other hand, three different cell concentrations of B. pilosicoli survived in chicken cecal feces at 37°C for only between 2 and 17 h, with a maximum survival time of 72 to 84 h at 4°C (140). Chicken feces are acidic and often dry, and this may account for the relatively short survival time of B. pilosicoli in chicken sheds.
