Abstract
Campylobacter jejuni is a major bacterial cause of human diarrheal diseases worldwide. Despite its sensitivity to environmental stresses, C. jejuni ubiquitously distributes throughout poultry production chains. Biofilm formation mediated by quorum sensing is suggested to be critical to the survival of C. jejuni in agroecosystem. C. jejuni possesses LuxS, the enzyme involved in the production of autoinducer-2 (AI-2) signaling molecules. In this study, two fatty acids, namely decanoic acid and lauric acid, were identified to be effective in inhibiting AI-2 activity of C. jejuni. Both decanoic acid and lauric acid at 100 ppm inhibited ∼90% AI-2 activity (P < 0.05) of C. jejuni without bacterial inactivation. The biofilm biomass of two C. jejuni strains was reduced by 10–50% (P < 0.05) after treatment by both fatty acids, while increased biofilm formation was observed for one C. jejuni strain. In addition, both fatty acids effectively reduced the motility of all tested C. jejuni strains. These findings can aid in developing alternative C. jejuni control strategies in agri-food and clinical settings.
Highlights
Campylobacter is recognized as a major bacterial cause of human diarrheal diseases worldwide (Kaakoush et al, 2015)
We evaluated the effects of decanoic acid and lauric acid on C. jejuni motility and identified that both decanoic acid and lauric acid were able to reduce the motility of all tested strains (Figure 5)
All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. Both decanoic acid and lauric acid at subinhibitory concentrations effectively reduced the AI-2 activity of C. jejuni by over 50% after 72-h incubation
Summary
Campylobacter is recognized as a major bacterial cause of human diarrheal diseases worldwide (Kaakoush et al, 2015). In 2010, Campylobacter infections and the post-infectious sequelae caused an estimated 166 million diarrheal illnesses and 37,600 deaths worldwide, resulting in significant socio-economic implications (Kirk et al, 2015). Epidemiological evidence collected from FoodNet indicated that Campylobacter outnumbers Salmonella to become the most common bacterial agent causing human diarrheal disease since 2017 in the United States (Marder et al, 2017). Campylobacter jejuni is the predominant cause of human infections (World Health Organization, 2013). C. jejuni is nutritionally fastidious and sensitive to food production-associated stresses, its adaptability allows it to survive and remain infectious in various environmental conditions
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