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Genome characteristics and infectivity of a Campylobacter jejuni 63A isolated from California gull (Larus californicus) excreta
Citation:
Lu, J., S. Keely, T. Gruber, I. Struewing, E. Villegas, AND N. Ashbolt. Genome characteristics and infectivity of a Campylobacter jejuni 63A isolated from California gull (Larus californicus) excreta. ASM Microbe 2019, San Francisco, CA, June 20 - 24, 2019.
Impact/Purpose:
Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. Its virulence and interactivity from environmental isolates challenge the risk assessment when exposed to wild bird active environment. This study characterized the genome of 63A isolated from California gull feces, revealed its virulence genes and evaluated its infectivity via chick model study. The results may lead to understand the risk of Campylobacter jejuni from wild bird. Regional partners, general public, local communities and academic scientists should be interested in the results.
Description:
Campylobacter jejuni is not only a major cause of human gastroenteritis in western countries due to food and water contamination, but it is also associated some outbreaks of Guillain-Barre´syndrome (GBS). C. jejuni 63A was isolated from California gull (Larus californicus) excreta. The novel isolate is 99% identical to C. jejuni strain ICDCCJ07001, which was isolated from a GBS patient, according to six sequenced loci (mapA, aspA, atpA, glnA, glyA and tkt). The 63A genome was subsequently sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq sequencing platform and then analyzed. Results revealed that the 63A genome consisted of 1,697,260 base pairs (bp) with the GC content 30.47%. The virulence loci and virulence-associated genes evaluated were found to be 98-99% identical to the equivalent genes in ICDCCJ07001. Some sequence differences were also found in 63A compared to ICDCCJ07001. For example, eight differences of nucleotide base pairs were observed in Invasion Antigen B, 22 were observed in cadF, and 12 nucleotide base pairs were observed in surface-exposed lipoprotein (jlp A). The prophage sequences were unique to this strain and thus a 63A specific qPCR assay was developed. According to this strain specific marker, the C. jejuni previously found in Sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis: a migratory bird) excreta could be the same strain as 63A. This stain was able to colonize in the gastrointestinal tracts of exposed chicks and persist for a week according to chick model experiments.