Colonization of streptomycin-treated mice by Aeromonas species

Streptomycin-treated adult mice were investigated as a possible model for studying the enteropathogenicity of Aeromonas species. C57BL mice pre-treated with streptomycin (5.0 g/L drinking water, 48 hours) received a single intragastric dose (1010 bacteria/10.5 mL) of one of six well-characterized, toxin-producing, human diarrhoeal isolates of A. veronii biovar sobria (n = 3) or A. hydrophila (n = 3). Their faeces were examined for Aeromonas for 10 days postchallenge. All strains colonized the antibiotic-treated mice. Colonization did not occur in mice which did not receive streptomycin. Strains of A. hydrophila were recovered in greater numbers than strains of A. veronii biovar sobria, and colonized (≤ 103 cfu/g of faeces) a greater proportion of mice at day 10. Strains of the latter species, however, were more adherent in cell line assays used as models of intestinal adhesion. A. hydrophila strains localized in the large intestine and appeared not to be cell associated. This study, therefore, points to species-related differences in intestinal colonization mechanisms. The streptomycin-treated adult mouse model may prove useful for further investigation of some of these mechanisms. Diarrhoeal symptoms were, however, not produced in this model.