Project description:Although the major food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni has been isolated from diverse animal, human and environmental sources, our knowledge of genomic diversity in C. jejuni is based exclusively on human or human food-chain-associated isolates. Studies employing multilocus sequence typing have indicated that some clonal complexes are more commonly associated with particular sources. Using comparative genomic hybridization on a collection of 80 isolates representing diverse sources and clonal complexes, we identified a separate clade comprising a group of water/wildlife isolates of C. jejuni with multilocus sequence types uncharacteristic of human food-chain-associated isolates. By genome sequencing one representative of this diverse group (C. jejuni 1336), and a representative of the bank-vole niche specialist ST-3704 (C. jejuni 414), we identified deletions of genomic regions normally carried by human food-chain-associated C. jejuni. Several of the deleted regions included genes implicated in chicken colonization or in virulence. Novel genomic insertions contributing to the accessory genomes of strains 1336 and 414 were identified. Comparative analysis using PCR assays indicated that novel regions were common but not ubiquitous among the water/wildlife group of isolates, indicating further genomic diversity among this group, whereas all ST-3704 isolates carried the same novel accessory regions. While strain 1336 was able to colonize chicks, strain 414 was not, suggesting that regions specifically absent from the genome of strain 414 may play an important role in this common route of Campylobacter infection of humans. We suggest that the genomic divergence observed constitutes evidence of adaptation leading to niche specialization. Data is also available from <ahref=http://bugs.sgul.ac.uk/E-BUGS-95 target=_blank>BuG@Sbase</a>
Project description:Neisseria meningitidis is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis and septicemia worldwide. The novel ST-4821 clonal complex caused several serogroup C meningococcal outbreaks unexpectedly during 2003–2005 in China. We fabricated a whole-genome microarray of Chinese N. meningitidis serogroup C representative isolate 053442 and characterized 27 ST-4821 complex isolates which were isolated from different serogroups using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis. This paper provides important clues which are helpful to understand the genome composition and genetic background of different serogroups isolates, and possess significant meaning to the study of the newly emerged hyperinvasive lineage. Keywords: comparative genomic hybridization
Project description:Neisseria meningitidis is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis and septicemia worldwide. The novel ST-4821 clonal complex caused several serogroup C meningococcal outbreaks unexpectedly during 2003â2005 in China. We fabricated a whole-genome microarray of Chinese N. meningitidis serogroup C representative isolate 053442 and characterized 27 ST-4821 complex isolates which were isolated from different serogroups using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis. This paper provides important clues which are helpful to understand the genome composition and genetic background of different serogroups isolates, and possess significant meaning to the study of the newly emerged hyperinvasive lineage. To further understand the genome diversity of ST-4821 complex isolates, CGH analysis was employed to compare the genomic content of 053442 with those of 27 ST-4821 complex isolates which were isolated from 14 provinces of China during 1977â2005.
Project description:Campylobacter jejuni is the most prevalent cause of foodborne bacterial enteritis worldwide. This study aims at the characterisation of pathomechanisms and signalling in Campylobacter-induced diarrhoea in the human mucosa. During routine colonoscopy, biopsies were taken from patients suffering from campylobacteriosis. RNA-seq of colon biopsies was performed to describe Campylobacter jejuni-mediated effects. Mucosal mRNA profiles of acutely infected patients and healthy controls were generated by deep sequencing using Illumina HiSeq 2500. This data provide the basis for subsequent upstream regulator analysis.
Project description:Campylobacter jejuni is the prevalent cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in human worldwide. The ability to survive stomach acidity is a fundamental requirement for C. jejuni to colonize the host and cause disease. However, the mechanism of C. jejuni acid survival is still unknown. Herein, we demonstrated that C. jejuni is able to survive acidic conditions at pH 4 up to 8 min without a drop in viability. The acid stimulon of C. jejuni 81-176 revealed the up-regulation of many genes important for Campylobacter acid survival such as heat shock genes and genes involved in energy metabolism. On the other hand, the repression of ribosomal genes highlights the ability of C. jejuni to direct its machinery to survive stressful conditions. Prior acid exposure cross-protected C. jejuni against oxidative stress suggesting an overlap in C. jejuni’s responses to various stresses. Interestingly, the induced expression of virulence genes in C. jejuni upon acid exposure such as the Campylobacter invasion antigen (ciaB) indicates that acid stress plays a role in C. jejuni host pathogenesis. Acid exposure significantly enhanced C. jejuni pathogenesis in both eukaryotic cells and G. melonella. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study characterizes the influence of acid stress on C. jejuni pathogenesis in an infection model. Altogether, this study uncovers the transcriptional profile of C. jejuni in response to acidic conditions as those encountered in the stomach. In addition, our results demonstrate that acid stress jump-starts C. jejuni for efficient gut colonization and host pathogenesis. Campylobacter jejuni is the prevalent cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in human worldwide. The ability to survive stomach acidity is a fundamental requirement for C. jejuni to colonize the host and cause disease. However, the mechanism of C. jejuni acid survival is still unknown. Herein, we demonstrated that C. jejuni is able to survive acidic conditions at pH 4 up to 8 min without a drop in viability. The acid stimulon of C. jejuni 81-176 revealed the up-regulation of many genes important for Campylobacter acid survival such as heat shock genes and genes involved in energy metabolism. On the other hand, the repression of ribosomal genes highlights the ability of C. jejuni to direct its machinery to survive stressful conditions. Prior acid exposure cross-protected C. jejuni against oxidative stress suggesting an overlap in C. jejuni’s responses to various stresses. Interestingly, the induced expression of virulence genes in C. jejuni upon acid exposure such as the Campylobacter invasion antigen (ciaB) indicates that acid stress plays a role in C. jejuni host pathogenesis. Acid exposure significantly enhanced C. jejuni pathogenesis in both eukaryotic cells and G. melonella. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study characterizes the influence of acid stress on C. jejuni pathogenesis in an infection model. Altogether, this study uncovers the transcriptional profile of C. jejuni in response to acidic conditions as those encountered in the stomach. In addition, our results demonstrate that acid stress jump-starts C. jejuni for efficient gut colonization and host pathogenesis.