Helicobacter trogontum sp. nov., isolated from the rat intestine

A new Helicobacter species that colonizes the colonic mucosa of Wistar and Holtzman rats was isolated and characterized. This bacterium was gram negative, its cells were rod shaped with pointed ends, and its protoplasmic cylinder was entwined with periplasmic fibers. It was catalase and oxidase positive, rapidly hydrolyzed urea, and was susceptible to metronidazole and resistant to cephalothin and nalidixic acid. The new organism was microaerophilic and grew at 42 degrees C, a feature that differentiates it from two other murine intestine colonizers, Helicobacter hepaticus and Helicobacter muridarum. On the basis of 16S rRNA sequence analysis data, the new organism was identified as a Helicobacter species that is most closely related to H. hepaticus. This bacterium is named Helicobacter trogontum. The type strain is strain LRB 8581 (= ATCC 700114).