1. Role of Campylobacter jejuni respiratory oxidases and reductases in host colonization
- Author
-
Jesse L. Grimes, Rebecca A. Weingarten, and Jonathan W. Olson
- Subjects
Anaerobic respiration ,Colony Count, Microbial ,Reductase ,Nitrate reductase ,Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology ,Campylobacter jejuni ,Mass Spectrometry ,Microbiology ,Species Specificity ,Animals ,Cecum ,DNA Primers ,Oxidase test ,Nitrates ,Ecology ,biology ,Wild type ,Nitrite reductase ,biology.organism_classification ,Physiology and Biotechnology ,Oxygen ,Gene Components ,Mutagenesis ,Oxidoreductases ,Chickens ,Bacteria ,Food Science ,Biotechnology - Abstract
Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of human food-borne bacterial gastroenteritis. The C. jejuni genome sequence predicts a branched electron transport chain capable of utilizing multiple electron acceptors. Mutants were constructed by disrupting the coding regions of the respiratory enzymes nitrate reductase ( napA ::Cm), nitrite reductase ( nrfA ::Cm), dimethyl sulfoxide, and trimethylamine N -oxide reductase (termed Cj0264::Cm) and the two terminal oxidases, a cyanide-insensitive oxidase ( cydA ::Cm) and cbb3 -type oxidase ( ccoN ::Cm). Each strain was characterized for the loss of the associated enzymatic function in vitro. The strains were then inoculated into 1-week-old chicks, and the cecal contents were assayed for the presence of C. jejuni 2 weeks postinoculation. cydA ::Cm and Cj0264c::Cm strains colonized as well as the wild type; napA ::Cm and nrfA ::Cm strains colonized at levels significantly lower than the wild type. The ccoN ::Cm strain was unable to colonize the chicken; no colonies were recovered at the end of the experiment. While there appears to be a role for anaerobic respiration in host colonization, oxygen is the most important respiratory acceptor for C. jejuni in the chicken cecum.
- Published
- 2008