Depending on a mare’s reproductive conformation and breeding history, she could have any number of bad bugs in her reproductive tract that might hinder conception. As if there weren’t enough bacteria to worry about, a research team in Germany has discovered a novel bacterium in a mare’s vagina.

Discovering new bacteria is a relatively rare occurrence in veterinary medicine, but microbiologist Atteyet-Alla Fetouh Yassin, PhD (habil.), from the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at Bonn University in Germany, recently identified Arthrobacter equi sp. nov. This microorganism is far from being the next big thing, however, as it does not appear to be pathogenic (disease-causing) in horses.

Yassin and colleagues originally isolated the bacterium in 1996 from a mare’s vaginal swab that was sent to Yassin’s laboratory. Using simple identification techniques (because the case presented before the widespread use of advanced molecular techniques such as RNA analysis), Yassin and colleagues tentatively identified the bacterium as belonging to the genus Arthrobacter–a Gram-positive bacteria prevalent in many soils and in extreme environments including the Arctic Sea, near leaking radioactive waste tanks, and in distilled water.

Unsatisfied with the 1996 identification of the bacteria, Yassin explained that he and his coworkers recently elected to revisit the case using more advanced technology: "Today, in order to achieve exact identification of any bacteria, we use molecular biological methods (e.g., 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and chemical analysis of cellular components), which was the case with the new bacterium