Isolation and characterization of arcobacter species from water samples collected from kutahya province

In this study, the presence of Arcobacter species, the isolation of accompanying microorganisms associated with Arcobacter species in water samples collected from various sources in Kütahya province and their biofilm formation ability of these two group of bacteria were evaluated. Ninety-eight water samples taken from well water, fresh water, solid waste water and tap water were examined. Following the isolation and molecular identification studies, 6 (85.7%) samples were found to be Arcobacter butzleri, and 1 (14.2%) sample were identified as Arcobacter skirrowii. The isolation of companion bacteria which associated with Arcobacter species was also performed and their microscopic morphology was evaluated. Seven Arcobacter strains and seven con-comitant bacteria were investigated for their ability to form biofilms formation and their role in prime colonization. In this study, it was concluded that companion microorganisms could share the same habitat as Arcobacter species, but they could not play a role in primary colonization due to their poor biofilm abilities. In Arcobacter species, all strains except one were found to form weak biofilms. The sensitivity of 7 identified Arcobacter strains against 11 different antibiotics was investigated. Of the percentage of strains examined, %42 were sensitive to gentamicin, %14.28 were moderately susceptible, to and %85.7 were resistant to tetracycline. Key words: Arcobacter spp., biofilm formation, con-comitant bacteria.