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Porphyromonas gulae, a Gram-negative black-pigmented anaerobe, is one of several major periodontal pathogens of animals. P. gulae isolates from dogs have been classified into three genotypes based on a 41-kDa filamentous appendage (FimA) on the cell surface, which is closely related to virulence in periodontal disease. However, other specific bacterial virulence factors contributing to the aggravation of periodontal disease in cats remain elusive. In the present study, we assessed FimA diversity in P. gulae isolates from cats and examined whether this diversity influenced periodontal condition. The putative amino acid sequences of FimA from 15 P. gulae isolates from 13 cats were classified into three genotypes (types A, B, and C), which showed 95-100% identity and similarity to the fimA types in dogs. The type C isolate showed greater adhesion and invasion properties in periodontal ligament fibroblasts as well as stronger inhibition of scratch closure of the cells compared with type A and B isolates. Next, a PCR-based method for identification of fimA genotype was developed and used to analyze 99 oral swab specimens from cats. High fimA type A detection rates were observed regardless of the periodontal condition, whereas types B and C were frequently detected from subjects with moderate and severe periodontitis, respectively. These results suggest that P. gulae isolates from cats can be classified into three types based on fimA genotype, which may be closely related to virulence in periodontitis., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Broad-spectrum antibiotics such as ceftiofur and ampicillin are recommended for the treatment of metritis in dairy cows. Nonetheless, little is known about the impacts of antibiotics on the uterine microbiota. Here, we evaluated the shift in uterine microbiota after treating metritic cows with ceftiofur or ampicillin, and also gained insight into the uterine microbiota associated with cure of metritis. Uterine swabs from ceftiofur-treated, ampicillin-treated, and untreated metritic Holstein cows were collected on the day of metritis diagnosis (D1) and on D6 and then used for genomic DNA extraction and sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene on the Illumina MiSeq platform. The uterine microbiota consolidated over time by decreasing species richness and increasing evenness; therefore, becoming more homogeneous. The uterine microbial community showed distinct clustering patterns on D6 according to antibiotic treatment, which could be attributed to more dynamic changes in the microbial structure from D1 to D6 in ceftiofur-treated cows. Ceftiofur led to significant changes at the community level, phylum level, and genus level, whereas the changes in ampicillin and untreated cows, although following the same pattern, were mostly non-significant. Bacteroidetes was significantly increased in ceftiofur-treated cows but was not changed after ampicillin and no treatment. Different responses to antibiotics were observed in Porphyromonas, which increased in relative abundance with ceftiofur and decreased with ampicillin. Regardless of treatment group, failure to cure metritis was associated with a decrease in diversity of uterine microbiota and an increase in the relative abundance of Bacteroides, Porphyromonas, and Fusobacterium., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Periodontitis is a polymicrobial infectious disease that causes occlusion change, tooth loss, difficulty in rumination, and premature culling of animals. This study aimed to detect species of the genera Porphyromonas and Prevotella present in the periodontal pocket of sheep with lesions deeper than 5mm (n=14) and in the gingival sulcus of animals considered periodontally healthy (n=20). The presence of microorganisms was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers for Porphyromonas asaccharolytica, Porphyromonas endodontalis, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Porphyromonas gulae, Prevotella buccae, Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella loescheii, Prevotella melaninogenica, Prevotella nigrescens, Prevotella oralis, and Prevotella tannerae. Prevalence and risk analysis were performed using Student's t-test and Spearman's correlation. Among the Prevotella and Porphyromonas species detected in the periodontal lesions of sheep, P. melaninogenica (85.7%), P. buccae (64.3%), P. gingivalis (50%), and P. endodontalis (50%) were most prevalent. P. gingivalis (15%) and P. oralis (10%) prevailed in the gingival sulcus. P. gulae and P. tannerae were not detected in the 34 samples studied. Data evaluation by t-test verified that occurrence of P. asaccharolytica, P. endodontalis, P. gingivalis, P. buccae, P. intermedia, P. melalinogenica, and P. nigrescens correlated with sheep periodontitis. The findings of this study will be an important contribution to research on pathogenesis of sheep periodontitis and development of its control measures., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Periodontal diseases (PD) are diseases of polymicrobial aetiology and constitute major health problems in captive macropods. Increasing knowledge of the causal pathogens is therefore crucial for effective management and prevention of these diseases. PCR survey and sequence analyses of potential periodontopathogens in captive wallaby populations revealed a co-incidence of the diseases with the detection of Fusobacterium necrophorum subsp. necrophorum (Fnn) and its encoded leukotoxin (lktA) gene. Sequence analyses showed that the outer membrane protein of Fnn in the GenBank database shared significant homology (99%) with the Fnn encoded haemagglutinin-related-protein gene fragment identified in this study. In addition, this report suggests the existence of a variant of Fnn with no detectable lktA gene and thus warrants further studies. In contrast to reports associating Porphyromonas gingivalis and F. nucleatum with PD, this study revealed that PD in macropods are associated with Porphyromonas gulae and Fnn and raises the question: is there a possible host pathogen co-evolution in the pathogenesis of PD in animals and humans? These findings contribute to the understanding of the aetiology of periodontal disease in macropods as well as opening up a new direction of research into the microbial interactions involved in the pathogenesis of PD in macropods., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Periodontal disease in cats is highly prevalent, and its aetiology is associated to bacteria located in the subgingival microbiota, being Porphyromonas sp. the most prevalent genus. The conventional technique to sample the subgingival microbiota is the use of cotton swabs over the mucosa and teeth; however the use of subgingival paper points could improve the bacterial recovery., Aim: The objective was to compare two microbial sampling approaches for the evaluation of the periodontal disease-associated microflora in cats., Methods: The study was designed as a pilot study. Ten cats were clinically evaluated and sampled under sedation. Subgingival pooled samples were collected from four sites. In parallel, samples were obtained with a cotton swab, by striking over the gingival margin and surface of the upper right canine. Samples were cultured on blood agar (aerobic and anaerobic incubation), Dentaid-1 (for Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and enterics), and a specific medium for Bartonella henselae., Results: For total anaerobic counts, paper point samples (6.59 ± 0.5) demonstrated significantly higher counts (p=0.03) than cotton swab samples (5.54 ± 1.1). Moreover, the use of paper points increased the frequency detection of most pathogens thus reducing false negatives for Porphyromonas gulae (100% with paper points samples and 80% with cotton swab samples)., Conclusions: Significant higher recoveries of anaerobic bacteria and more frequent detection of putative periodontal pathogens was observed when microbiological sampling was performed with paper points, in cats with periodontal disease., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The periodontal pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia are strongly associated with periodontal disease and are highly prevalent in humans with periodontitis. Porphyromonas and Tannerella spp. have also been isolated from the oral cavity of cats. The oral microflora in animals was compared with those in humans in earlier studies, but no studies are available on the comparison of the oral microflora from pets and their respective owners. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of these bacteria in the oral microflora of cats and their owners, since animal to human transmission, or vice versa, of oral pathogens could have public health implications. This study investigated the prevalence of Porphyromonas gulae, P. gingivalis, and T. forsythia in the oral microflora of cats and their owners, using culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All Porphyromonas isolates from cats (n=64) were catalase positive, whereas the Porphyromonas isolates from owners (n=7) were catalase negative, suggesting that the isolates from cats were P. gulae whereas those from the owners were P. gingivalis. T. forsythia was recovered from both cats (n=63) and owners (n=31); the proportion of T. forsythia relative to the total CFU was higher in cats with periodontitis than in cats without periodontal disease. Genotyping of T. forsythia isolates (n=54) in six cat/owner couples showed that in one cat/owner couple the T. forsythia isolates (n=6) were identical. These T. forsythia isolates were all catalase positive, which led us to hypothesize that transmission from cats to owners had occurred and that cats may be a reservoir of T. forsythia., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The etiology of human periodontal disease has been the focus of considerable research, yet relatively little is known about the causative agents of companion animal periodontitis. In humans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, a black-pigmented anaerobic bacteria (BPAB), has been implicated as the primary periopathogen. It has been demonstrated that BPAB are also found in companion animal periodontal pockets. While some animal BPAB have been individually identified, a study to identify the most frequently isolated subgingival BPAB has not been completed using genetic tools. The objective of this work was to identify the types and relative frequencies of pigmented anaerobic bacteria found in the periodontal pockets of dogs. Porphyromonas salivosa, Porphyromonas denticanis (a novel species) and Porphyromonas gulae were found to be the most frequently isolated BPAB associated with canine periodontitis.

The whole cell soluble antigens of two strains (NCTC 11632 and VPB 3313) of feline Porphyromonas salivosa (macacae) were analyzed by Western blotting using serum taken from 40 domestic cats with various grades of periodontal disease. Nine strongly immunogenic protein bands (66, 52, 42, 29, 27, 23, 22, 21 and 19kDa) were selected from both strains for further study. Both strains showed a significant association between overall periodontal grade and serum responses to the 66 and 21kDa bands with significant responses across both strains to all other bands except the 52kDa band. Similarly, both strains showed a significant association between the total colony forming units and serum responses to the 66 and 42kDa bands with significant responses across both strains to all other bands except the 19kDa band. When sera from 25 of these cats were tested by Western blotting against the isolated fimbriae of VPB 3313, there was a significant association between the grade of response of cats to the 42kDa fimbrial preparation and (1) the total reactivity of the mouth (the sum of the responses to all individual whole cell antigens), (2) the total colony forming units of P. salivosa (macacae) at the premolar site, and (3) to their responsiveness to the 42kDa band in the soluble whole cell antigen preparations. These findings suggest that P. salivosa (macacae) is a strong immunogen in the mouths of cats and those cats with more severe periodontal disease have a greater serum antibody reactivity to various soluble whole cell antigens, specifically including the fimbriae of this organism, than those with less severe periodontal disease. Overall, the findings suggest that this organism may be a contributor to periodontal disease in cats.

Samples were examined from 15 subcutaneous fight wound abscesses from 15 cats. All abscesses were closed at the time of sampling and cats had received no prior treatment. Samples were processed within 20 min and quantitative assessment made of total facultative and obligately anaerobic flora isolated. Digoxigenin labelled whole chromosomal DNA probes directed against three feline members of the genus Porphyromonas (P. gingivalis VPB 3492, P. circumdentaria NCTC 12469T and P. salivosa VPB 3313) were used to identify members of this genus and quantification of these species was made from each cat using colony lifts and southern hybridisation from nitrocellulose membranes taken from replicate plates from each abscess sample. Twelve of the 15 abscesses yielded a variety of facultative and obligately anaerobic (FOA) bacterial species and members of the genus Porphyromounas were enumerated from each of these 12 abscesses. Of the 12 abscesses in which Porphyromonas species were detected, seven contained one species only (five contained only P. gingivalis and two contained only P. salivosa) three abscesses contained two species (both P. gingivalis and P. circumdentaria) and two abscesses contained all three species of Porphyromonas. These results show that members of the genus Porphyromonas are likely to be significant contributors to the purulent disease process in subcutaneous abscesses in cats.