Abstract
BackgroundCampylobacter jejuni is responsible for human foodborne enteritis. This bacterium is a remarkable colonizer of the chicken gut, with some strains outcompeting others for colonization. To better understand this phenomenon, the objective of this study was to extensively characterize the phenotypic performance of C. jejuni chicken strains and associate their gut colonizing ability with specific genes.ResultsC. jejuni isolates (n = 45) previously analyzed for the presence of chicken colonization associated genes were further characterized for phenotypic properties influencing colonization: autoagglutination and chemotaxis as well as adhesion to and invasion of primary chicken caecal cells. This allowed strains to be ranked according to their in vitro performance. After their in vitro capacity to outcompete was demonstrated in vivo, strains were then typed by comparative genomic fingerprinting (CGF). In vitro phenotypical properties displayed a linear variability among the tested strains. Strains possessing higher scores for phenotypical properties were able to outcompete others during chicken colonization trials. When the gene content of strains was compared, some were associated with different phenotypical scores and thus with different outcompeting capacities. Use of CGF profiles showed an extensive genetic variability among the studied strains and suggested that the outcompeting capacity is not predictable by CGF profile.ConclusionThis study revealed a wide array of phenotypes present in C. jejuni strains, even though they were all recovered from chicken caecum. Each strain was classified according to its in vitro competitive potential and its capacity to compete for chicken gut colonization was associated with specific genes. This study also exposed the disparity existing between genetic typing and phenotypical behavior of C. jejuni strains.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12866-015-0433-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Campylobacter jejuni is responsible for human foodborne enteritis
To take into account all chicken colonization associated phenotypic properties when comparing strains, strains were individually ranked according to their phenotypic properties and the mean rank value for all strains was calculated (Table 1)
We clearly showed the variability of the autoagglutination, chemotaxis, adhesion, and invasion properties and showed that they were unexpectedly well distibuted among the tested chicken C. jejuni strains
Summary
Campylobacter jejuni is responsible for human foodborne enteritis. This bacterium is a remarkable colonizer of the chicken gut, with some strains outcompeting others for colonization. To better understand this phenomenon, the objective of this study was to extensively characterize the phenotypic performance of C. jejuni chicken strains and associate their gut colonizing ability with specific genes. Campylobacter jejuni is the bacterial agent responsible for campylobacteriosis, a severe gastro-enteritis afflicting humans. High numbers of C. jejuni can colonize the chicken caecum, up to 109 CFU/g of caecal. Many studies have reported the importance of certain phenotypic properties for efficient C. jejuni chicken colonization [7]. It was reported that the autoagglutination [8], chemotaxis [7,9], adhesion [7], and Thibodeau et al BMC Microbiology (2015) 15:97
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